Blinded
by Isaboo26
Summary: The team travels to Earth 2 to free Jesse Wells but also to find a cure for a dying Jay. They soon find out that what they think they know isn't necessarily the truth and that the ones they left behind are in great danger. Can they get back before it's too late or will the distractions of this other Earth prove too much of a temptation?
1. Chapter 1

She walked into the cortex and saw him through the window on the treadmill. He'd been spending an awful lot of time training but she understood why. Ever since Patty left he'd been feeling lost. A feeling she understood like no other. It had been a year since Ronnie's tragic death and not a day past by that she didn't think about him, missed him in the little things. Patty wasn't dead but she might as well be since there had been no communication between Barry and her and not for the lack of trying. She got behind her monitor and scanned the latest rapports on the screen. Nothing was out of the ordinary so she turned her attention back to the speedster behind the glass. He noticed her stare and glanced in her direction and made a waving gesture with his hand. Now that he'd seen her she almost felt compelled to go in and say hi. As soon as she entered the room he switched the machine off and slowed his tempo until it came to a halt.

"Why aren't you at the precinct?" she asked, giving him a quizzical look.

"Isn't Joe going to wonder where you are?" She noticed the sigh he disguised in some heavy breathing from his run.

"Joe knows how to reach me. I don't know. It's been hard spending time at the lab knowing that she's not going to walk in anymore. Sometimes I pick up the phone just to see if she's busy and then I remember that she won't be answering. Usually it goes straight to voicemail anyway" He glanced at her and produced a half smile. "I'm probably feeling sorry for myself, right? It's nothing compared to you and Ronnie."

"Hey, don't apologize for missing her" she said softly and put her hand on his shoulder.

"You're allowed to feel bad and I'm sorry that it turned out the way that it did. I also know that you've been blaming yourself and wondering if you shouldn't have told her sooner that you're the Flash. But Barry, it wouldn't have made a difference. She wanted to be the one to catch Mardon and she did that, sort of." Now it was her turn to flash a smile at him, reminding him of the role he'd played in the arrest.

"She's trying to move on with her life. I think it's a very brave thing for her to do and I hope she succeeds. Who knows, maybe she'll come back once she graduates and gives you a run for your money at the CCPD."

Her voice was laced with a little humor when she nudged her shoulder against his. Barry smirked and she couldn't help but mirror the look on her face.

"Let's go see what Cisco and Dr. Wells are doing in the lab. They've been in there since this morning and I hope they haven't killed each other." She got up from the treadmill and straightened her pencil dress. Then she extended her hand to pull him up.

"One second, I'll change." Her hair blew upwards as he sped off and one second later he re-appeared beside her, fully dressed in and wearing a shirt that matched the blue in her dress. As they were walking down the long corridor to the other side of STAR labs she unconsciously bit her lip.

"You're doing that lip biting thing again. What's wrong?"

"Nothing" she sighed but she already knew that Barry wouldn't be satisfied with that answer. He always knew when something was bothering her and this had been weighing on her mind for a few days now. If she didn't tell someone she would explode.

"It's Jay. He's sick," she blurted out. "I found out the day after the gala. He'd been acting strange so I tested his DNA that I lifted from a glass of Champagne."

Next to her she could feel the change in Barry. It was no secret that Jay and Barry had some issues. Of course it didn't help that Jay still insisted on calling Barry Kid. On the other hand Jay losing his speed made him a little jealous of Barry and she was caught in the middle and didn't want to pick sides.

"How sick is he?" Barry retorted.

"That's the thing. I don't really know. Just like yours his DNA was altered by the speed force. His cells are vibrating at a lower frequency, which would explain why he's not able to run so fast but there is nothing to indicate why that is. It could be the food or something environmental. After all, he's from Earth 2 and he's not used to our atmosphere. Or it has something to do with the wormhole. But Harry seems unaffected and we've seen Zoom travel back and forth. Jay seems to be the only one affected by all of this."

They reached the lab and he held the door for her to walk through.

"Is he in any danger?" She glanced up at Barry and shrugged.

"I honestly don't know."

Across the room they noticed Cisco and Wells working side by side so she lowered her voice and leaned in slightly.

"Do me a favor and don't mention this to them. Jay doesn't want anyone to know. Not until we figure out what we can do about this."

When he nodded she smiled. For some reason she felt better knowing that Barry was in on the secret too.

"Harry managed to replicate the isotopes he extracted from the Turtle's blood and check this out.." Cisco picked up a small metal rod that had a bright blue tip that glowed.

"We analyzed it and here's where it gets interesting. His blood cells were emitting some sort of radiation. We were able to isolate it and replicate it so that can be used to sent out an electromagnetic pulse that slows everything in a ten foot radius."

He picked up a glass cup from the counter and held it up before releasing it. She squealed and reached for the cup as it fell to the ground when Cisco pushed a button and it was like everything was moving slower. The glass was suspended in mid air but she felt like she couldn't move either. Barry however was moving but so slow that it took forever for him to reach the cup. Then Cisco pressed the button again and everything resumed back to normal.

"Pretty cool, huh?" he beamed and carefully placed it back on the counter.

"The only thing is that we can only get it to work within that 10 feet radius so if you're going to use it on Zoom, you'd have to let him get pretty close." A frown formed above her eyes.

"No! We can't let him get so close. Last time Barry went up against Zoom it almost cost him his life. This is great, Cisco, but it needs more work before it's a real plan."

When she noticed that Wells, Barry and Cisco ignored her reservations she raised her hands and rolled her eyes.

"Fine. Don't listen to the one voice of reason around here. But mark my words, if Zoom breaks your back again..I'm not going to be the one patching you up."

Barry's eyes met hers and he grinned, adding to her growing infuriation. "I mean it, Barry." He chuckles making her turn on her heels and storm out of the lab, leaving the boys to drool over their new toy.

A few days later the situation with Jay had gotten a lot more serious. He was barely able to keep any food down and it had gotten so bad that he was now under constant supervision in the lab. If she had it her way he would be in bed and hooked up to the monitor so she could run more tests but Jay was just as stubborn as the rest and ever since he heard about their plan to cross the breach and go to Earth 2 he was adamant that they should take him. Against her better judgement he managed to convince Barry and Cisco that he had a better chance of healing in his own world. She offered to go with him but they unanimously dismissed that idea. In fact, it was the only time she could remember Barry and Jay agreeing on something. Still, she didn't like the idea of them going off to parts unknown with no way of checking up on them. Although Wells promised to keep an eye on them.

"Do you have everything you need?" she asked Jay as the men prepared for the crossing. In the background the blue light of the breach flickered and bounced off the walls. Inside she felt just as restless. Jay smiled but she noticed how pale he looked. Then she glanced at Barry, her stomach in knots. What if something happened to him over there? Would she ever see him again? Barry's voice pulled her back to the presence.

"Cait. Don't worry. We'll be back before you know it." He pulled her into a hug and she wrapped her arms tightly around him as if she wasn't planning of letting him go again. When he whispered in her ear that he would take care of Jay she had to swallow a lump that was forming in her throat. It wasn't just Jay that she was worrying about. It was Barry and Cisco too and the thought of losing either of them was unbearable. Barry freed himself and walked over to Joe so she turned to Cisco.

"Are you sure this device is going to work?"

Cisco smirked and replied "Caitlin..pff. If not I'll find my Earth 2 counterpart and ask for his assistance. Two brilliant minds are better than one."

She chuckled softly.

"You don't even know if that Cisco is a scientist and there is only one you." She pulled him into a hug and then stepped back.

"Be careful over there. I want you back in one piece. All of you!" As she spoke she let her eyes go over the group but lingered on Barry. Their gazes locked for another second in which he seemed to understand everything she wanted to say but somehow couldn't. It was Jay's pained groan that broke their gaze and from the corner of her eye she caught him as he slumped to the ground.  
"Jay! Oh my God, are you okay?"  
She knelt next to him and checked his pulse. His heartbeat was slow and barely even detectable.  
"He's getting worse. He'll have to stay here so I can look after him. Joe, help me get him up. He needs to get back to the lab as soon as soon as possible."

She glanced at Cisco and shrugged. "You will have to go without him and find a cure over there and bring it back here. There's no other way."  
Cisco nodded but she could see that he was just as worried as she was. If the mission was a success and even if they managed to free Jesse, help might still come too late for Jay. She pushed the thought out of her mind because it was too hard to accept. Everyone and everything she loved was right there in that room and now there was a real possibility she could lose them.

The excited energy was gone when they stepped onto the platform. Together with Joe she supported Jay and watched as one by one they stepped into the light and then they were gone. "They will be fine," she assured Joe but there was uncertainty in her voice. This was different than going up against Metahumans in their own town. They were on their own on an entirely different Earth and all they could do was wait until they would return.


	2. Chapter 2

The first thing he noticed was the light. It wasn't as bright as it was on their Earth. Here it seemed like someone had taken a picture and glossed it over with a sepia color. Now that his eyes were starting to get used to the light he glanced around, curious about his new surroundings. Earth 2 was totally different from his Earth. The people were dressed differently, the cars, the buildings, it wasn't Central City the way he knew it but something was strangely familiar. He smiled at Cisco and then turned to Harry.

"This is your home so where do we go from here?" Harry seemed more anxious and he assumed it had everything to do with Jesse.

"My office," Wells replied short and started walking without checking to see if they were following.

Seeing STAR labs on Earth 2 was unreal. It looked exactly the same on the outside but the inside was a completely different matter. The first thing they noticed in the large entrance hall was the 15 feet image of Harrison Wells welcoming visitors.  
"Understated," Barry whispered to a chuckling Cisco as they proceeded to the elevators and passing a class of children on a fieldtrip on their way. How different this was on their Earth where STAR labs was still a place most people tended to avoid like the plague.  
"I'm guessing people reacted differently to the particle accelerator exploding here" Barry whispered under his breath but Wells turned to him anyway.  
"What happened here was an accident and a tragedy, Barry. But we've been doing everything in our power to make it up to the people of Central City."

At first glance everything looked the same but something was missing. Then it hit him. Back home he'd see Caitlin behind one of the monitors. Here were strangers in lab coats who seemed equally surprised to see Doctor Wells. He exchanged a few words with them and they shifted into action, punching in commands on to tablet in his hands.  
"Everything has been forwarded to your office, Sir." Wells thanked them shortly and then started to walk again. Barry and Cisco had no choice but to follow him.  
"Can't we at least have a look around first?"  
Doctor Wells turned to him, his whole demeanor displaying impatience.  
"Mister Allen, this is not a petting zoo. My staff is too busy to answer any questions you might have and we don't have to time for sightseeing. I have better things to do. Like saving my daughter. So either you help me find a way to stop Zoom or get out of my way." Barry bit the inside of his cheek. Wells had a way of making him feel like he was being sent to the principal's office. One more thing he had in common with the old Wells with one small difference. Eobard Thawne's version had more patience. And that was saying something.  
"You're right. The sooner we track down Zoom the sooner we can restore the Speedforce and cure Jay. I don't feel comfortable leaving Caitlin alone at Star labs."  
"Once I get Jesse back everything will be fine and you two can be on your way home. Things will finally be going back to normal around here" Wells muttered.

Once inside his office Cisco was looking around like a kid in a candy store.  
"Put it down, mister Ramone" Wells ordered him when Cisco picked up a gadget for closer inspection.  
"Is that some sort of a Meta scanning device?"  
Wells sighed and took it from Cisco's hands before placing it down gently on the table.  
"No. It's a solar phone my daughter made for her 5th grade science fair. Now stop fooling around and let's get to work." He switched on the tv on the wall and as it came to life both Barry's and Cisco's eyes widened in amazement. On the screen was Earth two's version of Barry standing in front of the police station and talking about the latest Zoom attack. Cisco chuckled.  
"Dude, you're Sherlock Holmes in this world. Nice threads." Barry smirked but then turned to the TV again. "So that's good news. I'm still a CSI here." Wells wasn't listening. He was going over the data his team sent him.  
"Interesting. It seems that there have been fewer sightings of Zoom in recent weeks but unfortunately it's too random to detect a pattern or anything that could lead to a possible location. There's just not enough information here. Damn it." Harry clenched his jaw. At that moment the intercom buzzed and a woman's voice filled the room. "I'm sorry for disturbing you, Professor. There's a detective West here to see you."  
Barry and Cisco exchanged an excited look. "Joe is here? Cool."  
Harry scowled at them and then replied "let her in."  
Cisco raised a brow. "Her?"  
"Behave and act normal" Harry growled as he proceeded to the door. He smiled faintly when he opened it and let Iris West in.  
"Detective West, always a pleasure. How can I help you today? We are kind of busy at the moment."

Meanwhile back on our Earth Caitlin checked on Jay as he was sleeping. As soon as she put him to bed with Joe's help she drew some blood and now she had to wait for the test results to come back. Since there was nothing she could do for Jay here she went headed back to the cortex and was surprised to see Joe was still there.

"Hey Joe. I thought you would be back at the station by now. They won't be back for at least 48 hours." She glanced quickly at her computer screen and noticed that the results weren't in yet so instead she flashed Joe a smile.  
"I'm worried about them too but Barry is smart. He'll be home before you know it." The clear bond between Joe and Barry was something that both amazed and touched her. To see that fatherly love Joe had for Barry even though he wasn't his biological child. Barry was very lucky to have someone like Joe in his life. It made her miss her own father that died all too young.  
"I wanted to hang around a while longer to see if you're going to be okay by yourself." Joe's comment made her arch a brow.  
"why wouldn't I be okay? Oh..are you worried about the Metas locked in the pipeline? Don't be. It's perfectly safe and there is no way any of them are getting out. So there's nothing to worry about."

"I wasn't referring to the pipeline but that's good to know" Joe grinned, "No, I was more worried about you being alone here with Jay."

"Jay? Why would that worry you? Jay's asleep in the lab." Her eyes narrowed on Joe and unwillingly she felt somewhat defensive.  
"Caitlin..I'm not really sure how to say this so I'm just going to come out and say it but my cop instinct is telling me something is off about that guy. I know you trust him and he's been helpful to Barry at times but I don't know...there is so much we don't know about him. I don't feel right leaving you alone with him when Cisco or Wells aren't here."

Anger flared in Caitlin but she kept it contained inside. When it came to Jay she was as overprotective as she was of Barry. Well, almost as much.  
"You are sounding like Professor Wells. Jay is a speedster, just like Barry. In fact, on his Earth he IS the Flash. It wasn't his fault that he's stranded on this Earth and he's sick. He needs my help so I'm going to help him in any way that I can. Besides, he's been nothing but nice to all of you so I don't get why you don't trust him."  
Joe inhaled deeply and gave her a half smile.  
"I didn't mean to upset you but I would be saying the same thing if you were Iris. You're going to be here by yourself with a man we know nothing about while Barry and the others are on his world. Don't you think it's strange that Harry doesn't trust him? That he hasn't given us any details about his life on Earth two? That he was able to find his double here when even Felicity couldn't locate this Hunter Zolomon or whatever his name is?"

She inhaled sharply while letting Joe's words sink in. Some of his questions were valid and she'd been wondering the same things on at least a few occasions but to think that Jay wasn't who he said he was, was unthinkable. After Ronnie she'd been desperately trying to fill the void inside, until Jay showed up. He made her feel something again and she wasn't ready to give that up. Nor did she want to.

"I appreciate your concern but I'm fine. And I don't think that it's that strange that Jay doesn't want to talk about his world. He probably don't want to influence us with stories of our counterparts. Or maybe he just misses his home. That's not so far fetched, is it?" She waved her hand dismissively. "Besides, he's barely able to move at the moment. Even Cisco could handle him in his current condition." A light chuckle escaped her lips. "But if you're that worried you're welcome to check in on the patient later."

Joe picked his hat up and held it in his hand while watching her intently.  
"Okay, I will. But you have to promise me that you will call the moment anything happens. I mean it, Caitlin. Don't take risks. Barry would kill me if he came back to find that something happened here while he was away."

She gave him a reassuring smile. "I'm a big girl, Joe. I can take care of myself. But I will call if I need anything." She watched him leave and then turned her attention back to the monitor where the test results were now displayed. As she let her eyes go over them quickly, her brow furrowed. "That's strange", she muttered. There were no signs of further deteriation since the last time she tested his blood. Nothing that would explain his sudden turn for the worst.


	3. Chapter 3

He stared at Iris, drinking in her appearance as if she wasn't the girl he just said goodbye to back home. And in a weird way she wasn't. This Iris was a detective, like Joe. But that wasn't the only thing that was different. There was something about her that didn't match with the girl he grew up with. This Iris seemed tougher and quite a different dresser too. He let his eyes go over her petite frame but looked up when he noticed that his stares drew her attention.

"Barry? What on earth are you doing here? Didn't you tell me that you would be busy with the Harley Rathaway case all day?" He opened his mouth to come up with an excuse but his mind drew a complete blank. How was he supposed to know what his counterpart would say or how they even knew each other. Instead he ran his hand through his hair while smiling sheepishly. Next to him Cisco chuckled softly. Iris' next comment threw both of them for a loop.  
"What happened to your wedding ring?" She hinted to his right hand that was still suspended in mid-air.

"Uhm..wedding ring?" he stuttered, "I don't know what happened to that…" He turned to Cisco with a deer-in-the-headlight look but his friend only shrugged. It was Harry that came to the rescue by replying to Iris.

"How can I help you, detective? Like I said, I'm in a bit of a rush."  
"Right. I had an officer posted outside ever since you disappeared and he reported that you were back so that's why I am here. For a while we thought that Zoom might have gotten to you but I'm glad to see that you are okay. Does that mean that Jesse is back too? Her mother filed a missing persons report when the school contacted her. She is your daughter and that's why the Captain gave this the highest priority."

Even though this wasn't their Iris he could hear the subtle tone in her voice. The tone that told him that she was annoyed about something. Harry gestured dismissively.  
"Jesse was with me. We were conducting a science project and I guess she forgot to tell her mother. There is no need for Central City's finest to waste manpower on a search for people that weren't missing to begin with. Sorry to have wasted your time. "

They both looked at Harry but wisely kept their mouths shut. There would be plenty of time for questions when Iris left but for now she didn't seem to be in any hurry to leave. She now turned her head and looked at Cisco, slowly narrowing her eyes as if she was trying to place him.  
"Who are you? You look familiar."  
Cisco grinned widely, probably thinking that his counterpart on this earth was a famous scientist or inventor. He rolled his eyes and stifled a smile as his friend introduced himself.  
"Nope, we haven't met but have you ever met someone and instantly have that feeling that you've known that person for a long time? That's what I feel is happening here."

"Dude.." he whispered under his breath and raised his brows. Iris didn't seem to notice but kept her eyes on Cisco. Dismissing his suggestion she turned back to him and gave him a sweet smile.  
"I guess everything is okay here. Barry, walk me out?"

He nodded and followed Iris out into the hallway. His stomach was in knots but he wasn't sure if it was because of the absurdity of the situation or because he didn't want to make a mistake and tip her off about not being who she thought he was. While he was still overthinking this she pinned him against the wall and crashed her lips against his. He froze instantly, which made her pull back and gaze into his eyes.

"What's wrong with you? You're acting very strange, Barry. The clothes, no wedding ring and the fact that you're here instead of the lab where you're supposed to be at the moment. You are hiding something. You can't hide things from your wife.."

His mind was racing a mile-a-minute. Wife? They were married? Growing up he fantasized so many times about what it would be like to be married to Iris and for the longest time it was all he ever wanted but when she kissed him it just felt wrong. What was the matter with him? Here he had the chance to make out with Iris and now it felt like he was kissing his best friend or his sister. And she noticed it too. He had to find a way out and quickly.  
"Sorry, Iris. It's been a crazy day but Doctor Wells called and asked if I could stop by. He needed some help with something that could lead to Zoom. It sounded important so I didn't have time to let you know that the plan changed. The clothes? I uhm..spilled something and borrowed this from someone here at STAR labs. Other than that..not hiding any secrets."

She watched him for a second but then placed another kiss on his lips. "I have to get back to the station but I'll be home early tonight. We're still going to see dad sing, right? No excuses, Barry."

He nodded and managed a small smile but inside he was confused. Hear Joe sing? What the hell? As soon as Iris left he hurried back inside.

"For real? You couldn't warn us that this world is completely insane? Not once in all these months has it crossed your mind that it was worth mentioning that I'm married to Iris here?"

Unbothered by his outburst Harry kept scrolling through the file on his tablet but when he noticed two sets of eyes waiting for a responds he looked up.  
"No. It wasn't relevant. You..are not married. This Iris is not your Iris and this Iris is married to Barry two, which is not you. Not your marriage, not your life, not your people. Get it through your head that nothing in this world has anything to do with you or the people on your earth. The same goes for Ramone, Snow, Joe and whoever you think you know over here. Now can we get back to the matter at hand and that is finding Zoom. Ramone, see if you can vibe something."

Cisco picked up the glasses and put them on.  
"Okay Zoom, let's see where you're hiding."  
Both Barry and Harry watched with bathed breath but nothing happened. Cisco shifted and hushed both men before he tried to conjure up an image again. Much to his disappointment nothing happened.  
"What's wrong with this thing. It's like it can't pick up the right frequency."

"Of course," Harry sighed, "this Earth vibrates differently. That would explain why the glasses won't work." He cursed under his breath. "There's no way we can find Zoom now."  
"Unless..," Barry muttered. Harry and Cisco collectively raised a brow when Barry bolted out of the office and before either of them could formulate a question he appeared back. But this time he wasn't alone. With him was a very confused and very familiar looking guy. Barry 2.

"What the heck is going on? Harrison Wells? Is that really you? Wow, I've been dying to meet you.."  
Barry 2 extended his hand, completely star-struck and seemingly over the fact that he was just in his own lab across town. Harry forced a smile but also seemed impatient and not happy with the turn of events but before he could scold Barry he disappeared in a gust of wind. 


	4. Chapter 4

The rays of the sun warmed her face on an otherwise chilly morning in March. She sat on the bench and took small sips of the hot coffee she bought at the entrance of the park. She wasn't even sure what she was doing there but ever since Jay showed her Hunter, she hadn't been able to get him off her mind. Despite what Jay said about his cells not being compatible, she was convinced that Hunter was part of the solution to the problem. There was something she was missing, some small piece of the puzzle that wasn't quite clear yet. At moments like these she missed Barry's analytical mind. He always knew how to put things in perspective and together they usually were able to find a solution to any problem. But this time she was on her own and it bothered her that she was not even close to finding out how to help Jay.

"There you are. What are you doing here all by yourself?" Jay showed up behind her and then sat down next to her on the bench.

"Yay, you're up. How are you feeling? I checked on you when I came into work this morning but you were still sleeping so I decided not to disturb you." She studied his face and noticed the healthy redness of his cheeks and the slight shortness of breath.  
"Did you run all the way here?" she asked with a surprised voice.  
"I needed the exercise," he joked and then glanced at Hunter who was reading the same book he'd been reading the last time they were there.  
"Is he why you're out here in the cold? Cait, I told you..you're wasting your time. Hunter Zoloman's cells are not a match. My cells were altered, maybe because of the explosion that gave me my powers or maybe Zoom did something to me when I went through the portal. Either way, I'm dying and no amount of wishful thinking is going to change that. We should focus on the time I have left and make the most of it. And that means working on the Velocity 9, finding ways to prolong its effects."

He locked his eyes with hers and gave her a disarming smile that made her feel butterflies in the pit of her stomach so she dropped her gaze.  
"Don't say it like that. You're not going to die because I won't let you. I've lost Ronnie and I'm not losing you too. That's why I came here. Maybe there is something you overlooked. I mean, when did you test Hunter's blood? Maybe we should run a few more tests, ask him if he's willing to undergo some testing.."  
"Cait..I told you to drop it."

Instinctively she pulled back and stared at him, unsure why he would react that way. It wasn't like she'd done anything wrong so there was no reason for him to scold her and yet he did. Her reaction must have shown on her face because all of a sudden Jay's attitude changed again.  
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to give you a hard time about this but I don't want you to waste any more valuable time. Caitlin, if anyone can help me it's you. Velocity 9 is the way to do that. Last time we used it I almost felt like my old self. I had my speed. In fact, I've never gone faster and with Barry on my planet this world needs a speedster. Let me be the hero this world deserves. The hero you deserve."

He leaned in and placed a soft kiss on her lips. She wanted to kiss him back so badly because what he said made sense but there was this annoying small voice in the back of her head telling her to be careful. She glanced in Hunter's direction again and noticed him gone so she cursed inwardly. Part of the plan was to follow him and learn more about this mysterious doppelganger that may or may not be able to shed some light on Jay's condition but now she let herself get distracted and lost her window of opportunity.

"You're right. Let's go back to the lab."  
She forced a smile and got up, shoving her hands deeply into the pockets of her winter coat.  
For a while they walked quietly next to each other and then Jay broke the silence.  
"I do appreciate the effort you're putting into all of this. It's hard being helpless on this Earth. You have to understand, on my world I was the Flash. Not to pipe my own horn but there's a statue in the main square but here I'm just a man. It makes me feel..inferior."  
Now it was her turn to look surprised. Tentatively she put her hand on the small of his back.  
"We'll figure this out. I promise. The Velocity 9 is working and I'm so close to perfecting it. It may not restore your speed completely but who knows, it might jump start the Speed Force that is still somewhere in your DNA. But there may be side effects and let's not forget Harry's warning."

They continued their discussion till they reached STAR labs and when they entered the cortex they were greeted by Iris.  
"Hey you two. Just the person I wanted to see," she smiled widely at Jay.  
"I have a huge favor to ask. My new editor wants to run a story about the Flash and how he's not the hero that everyone thinks he is. Mainly because no one has seen him in a couple of days and we all know why but of course I can't tell him that. He's convinced that the Flash bailed."  
She bit her lower lip and gave Jay a sweet smile.  
"Soooo, I sort of told him about another speedster that is here to protect Central City and now he wants me to get an exclusive interview."  
Even though Jay's back was turned towards her she could see that he was beaming.  
"Of course. I would be honored. Let's go find a quiet corner somewhere so we won't disturb Caitlin. She's working of the formula and we shouldn't disturb her concentration. Shall we?"

Jay offered Iris an arm and Caitlin watched as they both strolled out of the cortex. She couldn't help but feel a little jealous. Iris was clearly impressed by Jay and he didn't seem to mind at all. If she didn't know better she would even say that Jay was flirting with Joe's daughter.  
"Don't be silly. Jay was just being nice.." she muttered when Joe startled her.

"Jay was what?"  
"Joe! You just missed Iris. She was here to get an interview with Jay. If you hurry you can still catch them.  
"Iris was here? No, that's okay. I'll see her at home later. I actually came to see if there was any news. Barry isn't back yet?"  
She dropped her head to the side and smirked.

"You're really worried about him, aren't you? Nope, the portal is still closed but they have another 24 hours. Give them some time to find Jesse. But if it makes you feel better..I miss them too. It's so quiet without them here."

Her eyes lingered on the monitor with a screensaver of Barry and Cisco.  
"I'm counting the hours too. As a scientist I want them to stay over there as long as possible and gather as much information as possible but as a friend, I kinda want them back sooner rather than later. Especially since Zoom is over there too."

Earth 2:

"Joe really is a singer. I thought you were kidding earlier."  
"Are you sure you're feeling okay, Bar? You're acting like you've never seen him perform before."  
Iris placed a cool hand on his forehead and watched him intently.  
"I'm fine. Of course I knew he was a singer. Pfff, obviously. But he's really good!"  
Iris chuckled lightly.  
"Yes he is. You should tell him that sometime. Don't expect him to start liking you all of a sudden. There aren't enough compliments in the world that could make him like you but I know the feeling is mutual. I do appreciate you trying though."  
She reached over and tapped his knee which caused him to smile. When he looked over to Joe he noticed the angry stare which made him uncomfortable. Jay warned him not to get emotionally involved with the people on this Earth but it was hard when the people were so similar to the people he'd known and loved his entire life. When Joe's set ended he joined them at their table but as warm as the greeting was between father and daughter, as chilly was the reception he got from the man that was like a father to him back home.  
"Allen. I see you managed to pull yourself away from your lab to take my daughter out. "  
"Dad, leave Barry alone. It's been a long week and we just want to relax for one night. Ease up and join us for a drink."

Behind them a woman shrieked, causing them to turn to the entrance. His eyes widened as he gazed at the couple that just entered the bar. Deep down he knew that it wasn't them but the resemblance was uncanny. Next to him Iris reached for her gun but this time it was Barry that put his hand on her knee, stopping her from drawing her weapon. Then he turned back to the couple that now had everyone's undivided attention. His eyes went over the woman's body, her skintight leather pants that hugged her curves to the corset that left nothing to the imagination. Her icy blonde hair was the only difference from the Caitlin he knew from home but this girl was smoking hot. She definitely didn't dress like a school teacher.  
"So, which one of you lounge lizards is in the wrong universe?" she lazily asked while scanning the room. No one answered but they all stared in fear, afraid of what she could do if they angered her. The Caitlin doppelganger turned to Ronnie and pouted.  
"Baby, no one is talking to me.." She walked over to him and in that moment it became clear that they were more than partners in crime. On this Earth Caitlin and Ronnie were together too. It was hard to see Ronnie again knowing that Ronnie on his Earth was dead because of him. His pondering was cut short when Caitlin faced her audience once more.  
"Well, if no one wants to come forward then I guess I'll have to start killing you off one by one. Starting with you."

She pointed at an older man that seemed frozen by fear in his chair.  
"Don't worry. This will only hurt a lot.." Then she leaned in and kissed him. For a moment Barry was shocked by the sight but then the real horror followed. He watched how the colour drained from the man's face, fear flashing in his eyes until the light died and what was left was and empty shell of frozen flesh. He couldn't tear his eyes away from the lifeless body in the chair, trying to wrap his head around what just happened. Caitlin had already moved on and was now focusing on a young woman that huddled behind her boyfriend. Her plea for mercy pulled him back to the present and he rose from his chair. Next to him Iris hissed to him to sit down but he ignored her and kept his eyes on the blonde.

"Caitlin.."  
She hesitated and locked her sight on him.  
"I haven't heard that name in a long time.."  
"But that is your name, isn't it? Your real name? Please, I know you. Don't do this."  
Next to him Iris had removed her gun from its holster and was now pointing it at Cait but when he said that he knew her she glanced at him with confusion written on her face. Even Caitlin seemed to be caught off guard by his statement but she quickly regained composure.  
"If you really knew me, you would know that I've always hated the name Caitlin. My name is Killer Frost."  
With those words she stretched her arms and created an icy wind that circled her hands.  
"Get down!" He yelled and pushed Iris behind a table just in time since Killer Frost started firing icicles in their direction.

 **I know it's still very similar to 2x13 but things are about to go in a slightly different direction. So please, bear with me.**


	5. Chapter 5

With his speed it was easy to deflect her icy attack but it wasn't himself he was worried for. Iris and Joe were in the danger zone too and he had to get Caitlin away from them before things got any worse. Iris was already looking at her with a shocked and confused look on her face and once all of this was over, he was going to have to do a lot of explaining but for now their safety was his main concern. At the same time his mind was racing. This wasn't the mild mannered Caitlin he'd grown so fond of and even though she had to be stopped, hurting her wasn't an option either. So he did the one thing he could think of on such short notice. He ran. No suit, no disguise..just Barry running through the deserted city streets until there was enough distance between him and the bar to guarantee the safety of everyone inside. When he stopped he had a few minutes to gather his thoughts but all he could think of is why didn't Jay warn them about any of this. Okay, he did warn them not to get attached but he must have known about Caitlin's counterpart and about Ronnie. That's when he noticed the statue in the middle of the square. Jay Garrick, the crimson comet on this Earth. Somehow that put things in perspective again. This wasn't his Earth and he shouldn't treat its inhabitants like his friends he knew and loved. Wells even said the same thing. At that moment he looked up to the sky to see Ronnie appear surrounded by flames and with Caitlin in his arms before letting her down gently.

"Where is the other half of Firestorm? Where is Martin Stein?"  
Ronnie started laughing mockingly.  
"Firestorm? Is that what you called me on your Earth? That's cute but my name is Deathstorm. " As he was talking the flames burst out of his fingertips and Barry instinctively tensed.  
"I haven't let Stein out in years but I'm sure he's in here somewhere."  
Barry now turned to Caitlin. In the light of the moon her hair almost seemed like spun silver and looking at her he was overwhelmed by so many conflicting emotions.

"I don't want to hurt you," he exclaimed.  
"Trust me, you won't" she retorted dryly and then tuned to Ronnie.  
"Kill him!"

He started running to dodge Deathstorm's fireballs and actually felt some sort of satisfaction that no matter how hard Ronnie tried to hit him, he was able to avoid getting hit without even breaking a sweat. In the distance he heard Killer Frost's voice.  
"God, this is making me so hot."

He couldn't help but smile a little while bolting towards the end of the block. There was an alley behind a few commercial buildings that would give them the privacy to finish what they started without the chance of innocent bystanders getting hurt. Deathstorm and Killer Frost followed him closely.  
Much to his surprise they weren't the only ones that showed up. Cisco and Harry arrived even before the deadly duo.

"No, you have to get out of here. Caitlin…" Barry started to explain when he heard the roaring sound of fire.  
"Cisco, watch out!" In the blink of an eye he moved his friend out of the line of fire and put him down on the other side of the alley.  
"Woah..Ronnie is alive?!" Cisco gazed at Deathstorm and then noticed Caitlin.  
"What the freck? Is that Caitlin?"

The woman narrowed her eyes and slowly walked towards them, swaying her hips that made every step even more sexy. Cisco's chin dropped further while he openly eyed her in a way that made Barry feel embarrassed.

"There is that name again. My name is Killer Frost." She dropped her head to the side and kept her gaze on Cisco. "Remarkable."  
"What is?" he replied without taking his eyes off her. It was someone else that answered that question.  
"She's just surprised you look so much like me."  
"You.." Cisco managed to get out.  
"Well, that's funny. I was just going to say the same thing." From the shadows a man emerged that added to the absurdity of the situation. Cisco's Earth 2 double but dressed quite differently with a suave pony tail and the confidence to match.  
"Oh I knew there was another me here," he managed to say once the initial shock wore off.  
"And I knew you were coming, Cisco" his counterpart retorted, "even before you entered the breach and set foot on this world. See, we are all connected, Francisco…"

The disdain was written all over his face and Cisco 2 was clearly feeling superior in this situation. Cisco picked up on the arrogance and wasn't going to be bullied by this other version of himself.  
"The name is Vibe."  
"Reverb" his counterpart replied with a small bow.  
"Actually not the worst name you could've come up with. But not the best."  
Cisco's doppelganger chuckled dryly.  
"I've been watching you, Vibe." The way he emphasized the name made it clear that he didn't think much of it. "And I have to say that I'm extremely disappointed."  
Anger was now creeping into Cisco's voice.  
"Yeah, I know the feeling. I'm not sure what's worse. The fact that you're part of Zoom's gang or that weird Samurai situation that you've got going on the top of your head."  
"Listen to this. What if Zoom wasn't running the show anymore.."  
This time it was Cisco that was taken aback. Was that even possible?  
"You have no idea how powerful you really are. All you use your powers for is cheap parlor tricks but you could be a God. We could be Gods.." Clearly Reverb figured out how to tap into his powers and the thought of new possibilities was intriguing to say the least.

"Are you crazy?" Killer Frost interrupted.

"Let's just turn them over to Zoom and get this over with."  
"Talk to me like that again and I will shatter your entire nervous system" Reverb scolded while walking over to her. Barry tensed, ready to act if he got too close to her but Ronnie was already by her side. Reverb turned on his heels and directed all his attention back to Cisco.  
"So, Vibe..ready to run Central City?"  
Cisco looked to Barry for help, unsure how to answer that question.  
"I say..Flash, save us!"

It was the que Barry was waiting for and he geared into action. In a split second he managed to knock Reverb out but it was Deathstorm that didn't take well to a member of his team being attacked by the speedster. He threw a fireball in Barry's direction but when he moved out of its path the fire hit the person standing behind him. Killer Frost. She screamed and grabbed her injured shoulder.  
"Babe, I'm sorry" Ronnie yelled at her and then turned on Barry in anger.

"Look what you made me do." With every bit of force he fired at Barry, forcing him to the ground. Reverb joined him and together they were taking shots at a powerless Barry while Killer Frost begged them to stop.  
"Don't. Zoom wants him alive!" No matter how hard she pleaded the men weren't stopping. Barry was drifting in and out of consciousness but trying to stay awake when Zoom showed up. The pain of the burns was overwhelming and he had a feeling he could pass out at any moment. From his half opened eyes he watched Zoom reach into Reverb's chest. He opened his mouth to scream but no sound came out. This was exactly the way Cisco described what happened with Wells last year before he changed the timeline. Somehow it felt like he was stuck in a nightmare he couldn't wake up from. That's when everything went dark.

His eyes flickered until he was used to the dim light in the room. Disoriented he tried to sit up but quickly abandoned that idea when his entire body protested and he put his head down on the cool pillow. For a moment he felt safe but then the memories came flooding back. Iris, Caitlin or Killer Frost, Joe.. Zoom! His heart rate spiked and he tried to sit up again when he noticed her standing by the window. Her voice sounded cold. Cold enough to send a chill down his spine.

"It's you that should be dead." After finishing her sentence she kept looking outside but he saw her reflection in the glass and the tension on her face matched the strain in her voice.  
" Who's dead?" Barry groaned while pushing himself up. When she didn't reply he asked again but with more force.  
"Who's dead? Zoom? Who did he kill?" His thoughts ran to Cisco and Harry but he also remembered seeing Reverb. The fact that Killer Frost was alone made him fear the worst for Ronnie.  
When she finally turned he could see her putting on a brave face the same way Caitlin did when Ronnie died on his Earth and the same feeling of guilt formed a ball in the pit of his stomach.  
"He's dead because of you! I should have let Zoom take you and do whatever it is he's planning. " Killer Frost towered over him but he was in no condition to put up a fight if it came down to that.  
"Cait, I'm sorry" he mumbled weakly. His stomach was acting up. Rationally he knew that he wasn't to blame for Deathstorm's death but the look on her face was all too familiar and it reminded her of the grief he witnessed from his friend back home.  
"I told you..my name isn't Caitlin. I'm Killer Frost!"  
When she put her hands on his shoulders he cried out in pain. The burnt skin froze under her touch and his breath hitched. She let go and he fell back down, looking at the frozen wounds. Without saying a word she bolted out of the room, leaving him alone and in pain.


	6. Chapter 6

**Earth 2**

His body was healing but it was taking too long and with no clocks in the room anywhere it was difficult to determine how long he'd been there. When they were in the alley it was around midnight and judging from the early light flooding the room now it was just before sunrise. Or right after sunset and that would be a bigger problem. By now he started to wish he hadn't made Jay promise to close the portal in case they didn't make it back on time. And to make matters worse, Killer Frost hadn't come back since she bolted out of the room. He groaned as he pushed himself up and swung his legs over the side of the bed, slowly testing if they were able to support his weight. He quickly sat back down as soon as pain shot through him like a speeding bullet and the wound on his side where Deathstorm's fireball hit him started to bleed again. He gently covered it with his hand and gritted his teeth while scanning the room for anything he could use to stop the bleeding.

"Sit down or you'll make it worse." Her voice lacked any kind of warmth but still he couldn't be happier to see her. Killer Frost's eyes met his and once again he was taken aback by how blue hers were. In any other situation he would be happy to stare into them for any length of time but as soon as he realized that he was staring he dropped his gaze.  
"If you were thinking about escaping, don't. Besides, you wouldn't get very far with that wound anyway. You would be dead before you even reached Central City and your precious wife again and then where would we be?"  
She pushed him down with more force than necessary and it became clear to him that she was angry.  
"If this is too much trouble for you then you could just let me go. I'm sure I'll be fine," he muttered but started to feel lightheaded as soon as she ripped the rest of the bandage off without warning or consideration that it might hurt.  
She rolled her eyes and scoffed  
"Yeah right. I forgot, you're a superhero."

Anger flared inside him. She was making fun of him and who gave her the right? She worked for Zoom!. Just when he started to think that Killer Frost had nothing in common with Caitlin Snow and that she was probably going to deliver him to Zoom, she said the one thing that gave him a sliver of hope.

"Don't expect me to patch you up every time you break something."  
"What did you say?" He looked up to meet her eyes.  
"You heard what I said. Just because I fixed you up doesn't mean that we're allies all of a sudden. You're still my prisoner and I haven't decided what I'm going to do with you yet."  
He tried not to smile but failed miserably when the smirk crept across his face. Something that seemed to annoy her since she clenched her jaw and he could feel how the temperature in the room dropped a couple degrees. Finally she blurted out "what?!"

"Nothing," he shrugged, "it's just something a friend once said and you remind me of her."  
"Well, we are not friends. We are not anything!" She dressed the wound again and then threw a shirt in his direction, which he easily caught in mid-air.

As he was changing he noticed her staring, not embarrassed or showing any kind of emotion. The whole situation made him think of another time when he helped Caitlin change into her pajamas. At least he pretended not to look then but of course he did. What normal red blooded young man wouldn't. Or in this case, red blooded woman. Unless her blood was blue too, like those eyes you could drown in.

"Focus, Barry" he muttered and pulled the shirt over his head. It probably belonged to Ronnie but he was grateful to be out of the bloody clothes that smelled like fire and sweat.  
"Can I ask you a question?"  
Killer Frost shifted her weight to one foot and sighed impatiently.  
"You don't seem to be able to keep your mouth shut so go ahead. Make it quick."  
"Why didn't you hand me over to Zoom when you had the chance? I mean, you were sent by him to capture me, weren't you? I heard you say that when Ronnie..sorry, Deathstorm and Reverb tried to kill me. You said that Zoom wanted me alive. Why? What does he want with me and why did you help me?"

Seconds ticked away while Killer Frost molded over her answer. When she started speaking again he could hear an edge to her voice. Something that wasn't there before and it was hardly noticeable next to the coldness but there was a layer of emotion.  
"He killed Ronnie."  
Just those three words made him flinch. First their Caitlin lost Ronnie, not once but twice, and not Killer Frost was experiencing the same tragedy. Maybe it was faith but if that were the case, that would just suck.

He didn't know how to respond knowing that no matter what he would say or do, it would make this less hurtful for the woman standing in front of him. He didn't know what their relationship was like on this Earth but it was clear that she cared for Ronnie. And if she was anything like Cait, she had to have loved him deeply and that made this all the more tragic.

For a moment they stared at each other in silence and then she averted her eyes and the moment was over.  
"He's dead and Zoom will kill me too once he figures out what I've done. So maybe I should save us all the trouble and simply hand you over. I'm sure he'll be pretty pleased with me then."  
She smiled slyly and it sent shivers down his spine to think that she could be serious.  
"Look, you don't have to do that. Help me get back to my friends and we can protect you. Tell us where Zoom is keeping Jesse Wells and we'll fight Zoom together. We can defeat him. It won't bring Ronnie back but you'll be free."

Her hollow laughter filled the room and crushed any hope he had of getting back to Cisco and Harry. It sounded so logical in his head but Killer Frost had no intention of playing nice. He realized how naïve he'd been and that he'd been blinded by the face. The realization was kinda hard to swallow.  
"You can protect me from Zoom? No one can protect me. Or you for that matter. Once Zoom is done with all of us, we'll all be dead. You came here to rescue someone? Well, you made a big mistake. One you'll pay for with your life."

She turned and started walked towards the door when he reached out, grabbing hold of her wrist and by doing so, stopping her in her tracks. Pain shot through him from the sudden movement and blood trickled through the freshly dressed wound but he ignored it and kept his gaze on the blonde as she slowly turned her head, her eyes even deeper blue than before and deadly cold.  
"LET..ME..GO" she uttered slowly, articulating each word.

"Caitlin, you loved Ronnie. Zoom killed him right in front of you. Don't you want revenge? Don't you want to make him pay for ripping his heart out like his life meant nothing?" He hated himself for making her remember. Especially when she swallowed, fighting the tears he knew to be pooling behind her eyes. This was cruel but necessary if he was to reach her. The hand that was still wrapped around her wrist was starting to turn blue and his instinct told him to let go of her but he willed himself to hold on. Just like he locked his eyes on hers, making her listen to each and every painful word.

 **Earth 1**

Back at STAR Labs Caitlin put the rest of the test tubes of V9 in refrigerator and then took off her protective gloves. At least she managed to get some work done after she managed to convince Joe to check in at the station and now there were a few hours left before Barry and the others were due to arrive. She leaned down on the counter and smiled at the mouse running around in the wheel of its cage. It was actually Cisco's but she promised to take care of it while he was away. In true Cisco style he named it Mighty Mouse since it was the last of the test mice Eobard/Harrison kept in the lab when he performed test on General Eiling's behalf. She had Grodd, Cisco had Mighty. It still bothered her that they had to do tests on animals but with the V9 it was too dangerous to test it on Jay. Especially since Jay was sick already. But the results were looking good. Mighty looked healthy, he was eating right and the way he was speeding in that little wheel she was worried he was going to wreck it.

"Cisco will be happy to see you" she chuckled and broke off a small piece of cheese that she pushed between the bars of the cage. The mouse stopped running and flashed over to her side to nibble.  
"Hey, slow down little guy. There's always more if you're still hungry."  
Normally the mouse was tame enough to hold but today it seemed agitated, aggressive even in the way it attacked the cheese and before she knew it, it bit her in her finger.  
"Auch" she muttered and pulled her hand back, checking her finger as a small drop of blood appeared. Mighty had never bitten her before so this surprised and worried her. Was this a side effect of the drug or was he simply hungry and she not fast enough to move her hand?

At that moment Iris walked in. She hadn't seen her since she left with Jay for the interview.  
"I'm going back to the paper to file my story but I'll be back later to welcome the boys back. Are you okay?"  
Iris frowned when she noticed to look on Caitlin's face but the scientist waved dismissively.  
"I'm fine. It's just..Mighty bit me and he's never done that before. He's usually so.."  
"Cuddly? It's a mouse, Caitlin. Not a pet. He's probably angry that you stabbed him with a needle and this is his revenge." Iris chuckled and shook her head.  
"Yeah, you're probably right. I would be angry too and I wish we didn't have to use him to test the V9 but there is no other way to do it."

Iris raised her hands in defense. "I wasn't accusing you of anything. I know you care about the animals. Even the really big and scary ones, like Grodd. But now I really have to go or my editor will have my head for being late and we all know I'm not the one that's always late in our family."

After Iris left she headed back to the cortex when the sound of an explosion made the walls shudder. In a panic she started running towards the basement where the explosion originated from. When the door opened she stepped into the smoke filled room, squinting her eyes as they started to water. With her hand covering her mouth to prevent her from inhaling toxins she made her way to the control panel and punched in a few commands. Within seconds the smoke was sucked out of the room and she could see again. The first thing she noticed was Jay on the floor. She ran over and helped him to sit up.  
"Jay, what happened? Are you okay?"

Now she looked up at the portal and her heart sank. What was a portal to a different dimension was now reduced to a pile of smoking rubble.  
Jay coughed, causing her to turn her attention back to him.  
"I came down here to check on the portal, recalibrating the frequencies and making sure that it was working properly when there was a malfunction. A circuit must have fried because the next thing I knew the whole thing when up in smoke. I'm so sorry, Cait."  
"You're not injured. That's something" she muttered while helping him stand. Then she gazed at the rubble.

"No no no no no no no. In four hours Barry will be at the rendez vous point expecting to make the jump back. How can he come back when the portal is destroyed? We have to fix this. Please tell me we can fix this?" Her eyes found Jays and completely contradictory to hers, his seemed confident and calm.  
"We can try, Cait. There's still time left and what kind of hero would I be if I couldn't bring Barry home?"  
She wished she had his confidence but looking at what was left of the portal she wasn't so sure that they would be able to pull it off. Still, she forced a small smile.  
"okay. Let's get to work."  
For the next few hours they worked tirelessly side by side, rebuilding the frame that would hold the anomaly in place. But even though they were making progress the damn thing refused to come online. When Joe entered she didn't even look up. Her hands quickly moved over the control panel, punching in one code after another.

"What the hell happened here?" Joe's voice reflected how she was feeling. Slightly panicky. Before she could answer Jay was at Joe's side, his hand on the detective's shoulder.  
"We had a small hiccup but it's all under control."  
"Small hiccup? This does not look like a small hiccup. Can you bring them back?"  
Joe walked away from Jay and was now standing directly at her desk, forcing her to look at him. Her jaw was clenched as she slowly shrugged in desperation.  
"I don't know. Joe..I'm so sorry. I told you that Barry would be safe on Earth 2 and that he can handle himself and now we screwed up. But I promise you, we're doing anything to get them home again."

Jay coughed, drawing attention back to him.  
"The problem is that we can't seem to get the computer online. It might take a while longer, if we succeed at all. You may want to prepare yourself for the possibility that we can't get them back. This is the last portal and if we can't open it again..well, you get the idea. Barry knew the risk when he agreed to cross over."

Two sets of eyes looked at Jay at disbelief but then Joe ripped into Jay, taking the words out of Caitlin's mouth.  
"You better get this damn computer back online and get my boy home or so help me God.. There is no way I'm leaving him there on that Earth. You owe him since he's there doing YOUR job. "  
Joe was now pacing the floor while Cait focused on her screen. Time was ticking away and she felt like she was fighting the clock more than anything else.


	7. Chapter 7

**Clash of the Legends**

 **A little of both. I think Barry is very attracted to Killer Frost and wanting to believe that there is good in her but because of that it's opening his eyes to something he's overlooked back home. So for now it's Killer Frost but the story isn't over yet.**

 **Matt Freeman**

 **Happy Easter to you too and thank you. I hope you'll enjoy this chapter too.**

 **SodapopLover4524**

 **Thank you. I really appreciate you saying that.**

 **Raquel:**

 **Thank you.**

Earth 1

"Sorry I'm late. I had coffee with my boss and things went a little..yeah, that's a story for another day. What did I miss?"  
Iris breezed in with a big smile on her face, taking off her coat and throwing it on a vacant chair and only then noticing the deadly silence. Tension in in the room was palpable and thick enough that it could be cut with a knife.

"Oookay, something is obviously wrong here since I'm getting the feeling like this is some kind of standoff. Dad, what's going on?"  
Her eyes landed on her father but Joe ignored her and kept scowling at Jay. It was Caitlin that broke the silence.  
"We are NOT leaving them behind. It's just not an option. There has to be a way to bring them back. Let's just keep working and figure out why the damn thing won't come online."

Caitlin looked at Joe and then threw a begging glance in Jay's direction.  
"Come on guys. Barry is counting on us and we are wasting precious time."  
While she turned her attention back to the computer, Iris' brows shot up.  
"What does she mean? Dad..is Barry in trouble?"  
Joe now faced his daughter and forced a small smile.

"Everything is fine, baby. There was an accident earlier and now we're having trouble getting the portal to open. But I have every confidence Caitlin and Jay will find the problem in time for Barry to come home."  
Iris followed her father's gaze with a worried look upon hers, knowing that he was lying but not calling him out. All they could do was wait helplessly and hope for the best.

Tense minutes past where Jay and Cait worked side by side in silence, concentrating on finding the fault in the program. Joe walked around the portal the same way someone would a broken car. Opening the hood to inspect tech he had no understanding of but still hopeful that somehow the solution would magically present itself. When it did it was so simple Joe had to look twice to reassure himself.  
"Correct me if I'm wrong but shouldn't this lever point to the right the way the others do?"  
Caitlin looked up and frowned.  
"What? What lever?"  
"This one..," Joe pointed to one on the bottom of one of the rings that formed the walls of the Speed canon.  
"You've gotta be kidding me" Caitlin muttered.  
"Yes! It should. I can't believe we didn't look at that before. I thought you checked the portal" she said to Jay with excitement.  
"I did," Jay retorted but shrugged apologetic. "Must have missed that one. Joe, if you would do the honors. But be careful. Once it comes online the pull is very strong so don't get sucked in."

Joe smirked widely and quickly moved out of the way as soon as he flipped the switch. With a roar the portal came to life and antimatter appeared out of nowhere.  
Iris and Caitlin high fived and then Joe joined his daughter while Caitlin smiled at Jay.  
"You did it. Thank you for rebuilding the portal and believing that everything would be fine. I have to admit that I was scared for a while but you're amazing."  
Jay returned the smile and pulled her into a hug.  
"I couldn't have done it without your help, Caitlin. You deserve just as much of the credit for this one. Now let's get Barry home."  
She let go and nodded, still smiling from ear to ear before turning her attention to the portal.  
"Any moment now.."

They all watched breathlessly but nothing happened. Five minutes turned into ten, then an hour went by and still there was no sign of their friends. After about two hours Joe started pacing the floor, Iris finished what was left of her fingernails and Caitlin bit her lip so hard that she could taste her own blood but none of that made any difference. Finally Joe said what everyone was thinking.  
"Something must have gone wrong on the other side. The only reason why they didn't make it back at the designated time would be if they ran into some serious trouble."

Earth 2

Her inner struggle was painful to watch. Slowly she pulled her hand back, freeing herself from the tight grip he had on her wrist.  
"I do want revenge. For Ronnie. He did everything Zoom asked and he didn't deserve a death like that. But that doesn't make us allies. Or friends. It just means that we have the same goal, for now. And don't think for a second that you have me fooled with the fake concern. You don't give a damn about me or what happens to me when Zoom finds us. All you want is to get back to her."

She put every emphasis on the last word and it made the wheels in his head spin.  
"Her? You mean Iris?" Now it was his turn to frown.  
"I think you're confused about something. Iris isn't my wife. She's other Barry's.." He stopped talking knowing how insane that sounded.  
"It's kinda a long story and quite frankly it's none of your business. All you need to know is that I do want to get back to my friends and that I do care about what happens to you. You can try to convince me that you're this evil murderous ice queen that doesn't care about anything or anyone but I know that it's an act. There is good in you whether you want to admit it or not."

He pushed off the bed and clenched his jaw until he stood completely upright.  
"Now we can stand here and argue or we could find Zoom and end this."

He had no idea they were so far from the city but it made sense that Killer Frost and Deathstorm didn't have a condo in the city. Now he was treading through the woods with the ice queen as his guide. She walked in front of him, giving him a perfect view of her behind in those skintight blue leather pants that worked so well on his imagination. He tried not to look but his eyes had a mind of their own. Since Patty left he hadn't really thought about anyone in that way but there was something about Killer Frost that was very hard to resist. He was still lost in thought when she glanced over her shoulder.

"What's the other me like? The one on your Earth." It was a question he wasn't prepared for.  
"Caitlin? She's pretty..amazing. Uhm, she's a scientist and a doctor. She's so smart and she's kind. I don't know anyone with a bigger heart than hers. Caitlin always sees the best in everyone. Even when there is nothing good about them. It also makes her vulnerable and easily hurt but she's also very strong."  
He smiled thinking about Cait and wondered what she was doing at that very moment. Probably worrying about them, just as Joe, Iris and Jay were doing too. He knew they missed the window and he could only imagine what the team back home was thinking. He had to trust that they would keep the portal open, despite the promise they made to close it if he didn't return.  
"Is Ronnie there?"  
The smile on his face instantly froze and that same feeling of guilt crept up again. Because he didn't answer Killer Frost stopped and turned to give him a curious glance.  
"He is, isn't he? You know him there too. Is he bad like here? It's so much more fun to be bad." She smirked and then tugged on her bottom lip with her teeth. A small move that still mesmerized him but he shrugged it off before answering her question curtly.  
"Ronnie is dead. And no, he wasn't bad. Ronnie was selfless and brave and he died a hero, leaving Caitlin a widow and heartbroken." He swallowed hard and marched past her but she quickly caught up to him.

"They were together on your Earth too? Like destiny? Maybe it's faith then that he is dead like my Ronnie."  
Barry stopped and stared with anger filled eyes at the woman who displayed no emotional reaction to this news.  
"That's your reaction? Just a rational conclusion that their deaths was meaningless and unavoidable? Wow, you really are cold."  
His words slid right off her as she started to walk again and for the next few minutes they walked in silence while he thought about home. Even though he'd been gone for a little over two days, it started to feel like a lot longer. At that moment he would have given anything for a cup of Joe's coffee, reading the paper in their comfortable living room or playing with one of Cisco's inventions in the cortex or figuring out how to take out the next Meta with Cait.

"Isn't there a faster way to get where we're going?" Frustration was getting the better of him.  
Killer Frost turned to him with a seductive grin on her face and shrugged slightly  
"I don't know. You tell me, handsome. Aren't you supposed to be as speedster or something?"  
"Right," he muttered before scooping her up in his arms.  
"You know you could have told me this sooner, right?"  
She kept the smile on her face while wrapping her arms tightly around him.  
"I know. But you were so busy staring at my cute little behind that I thought I would give you a few minutes."

Heat crept up towards his cheeks so he made his feet do the work and sped off like a bat out of hell, following her directions along the way until finally they reached the side of a mountain. There he put her down and put his hands on his knees to catch his breath. She pouted at the sight.  
"You're going to make a girl feel self-conscious."  
His first instinct was to apologize when he noticed the teasing smile on her face.  
"Very funny. It's this damn wound that's still not healed completely. Normally I can go for hours."  
She arched a brow and held back a smile when he realized what he just said.  
"Uhh I meant running. I can run for hours and not get tired. Not what you were thinking. Of course I can do that too but that's not what I meant. I'm going to stop talking now." He sheepishly grinned while running a hand through his hair.  
"Sure you can," she teased again and now he was desperately trying to come up with a way to change the subject. Instead he looked up at the mountain and creased his brows.

"So this is where Zooms lair is? Makes sense that he would pick a place no one but a speedster could get to."  
"Or someone that could build a staircase made of ice."  
"Or that. That's pretty impressive. But since the others aren't here yet, we have some time to talk. What can you tell me about Zoom? Have you ever seen prisoners up there?"  
Killer Frost yawned and then crossed over to him, keeping her gaze firmly on his face.  
"Talk talk talk. That's so boring when there are better ways to pass the time."

He cleared his throat and took a small step back only to find her closing the gap again and it made him feel strangely uncomfortable and excited at the same time. If this were any other situation he would be so into her playful mood but with everything riding on Jesse's rescue it felt all wrong. Plus he still wasn't convinced that she could be trusted.  
"Come on, Barry.." she said seductively while tracing his face with her ice cold finger and leaving a small trail of frostbite on his skin. "Are you always this uptight or is there another reason."  
He turned his head away from her and tried to push her off but she held her ground and grinned wickedly.  
"Oh there is..! It must be a girl. Someone on this Earth that reminds you of someone back home. You're jealous. I'm onto something, aren't I? "

With every smug word coming from her lips he felt sicker. How was it that this woman he never met had such insight into his most private thoughts. Maybe she was a mindreader as well. In any case, it annoyed him to no end and that registered on his face, fueling her speculations.  
"I knew it. It's always a girl. Is it the cute detective? The one that is married to the you that is not you? I don't see why you would waste time on that one. She seems kind of boring. I would be happy to kill her for you if that makes you feel better." An exited chuckle escaped her lips as if she couldn't be happier to have solved a riddle and the prospect of killing but Barry's blood was slowly starting to boil. She was making fun of his life, of things he held dearly for so many years and he hadn't even had a chance to sort out his own feelings yet so why was she mocking something he didn't even understand himself? And threatening Iris' life?

Red flashed before his eyes as he pushed her off him until her back hit the stone wall where he held her in place with one hand, his face inches away from hers as he hissed:  
"Shut up. You don't know what you're talking about. Stay away from Iris. In fact, stay away from any of my friends and from now on, don't even mention their names. Or better yet, don't talk at all."  
Unimpressed she chuckled, which only made him angrier.  
"Well well, there is some fire in you. But I should warn you.." In the blink of an eye she flipped them so his back was against the wall and her lips inches away from his.  
"I don't take orders from you or anybody else. Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you right now? I could always tell Zoom that you tried to escape and I had no choice to kill you. Zoom would still be grateful."

The cold from her lips was giving him chills but it was the coldness in her eyes that scared him the most. Just when he thought he was making progress with her she slipped back into her cold heartless self and provoking her with no one around to help him in case she decided to kill him might not have been the best decision.  
Their eyes were locked in a battle, either one too proud or stubborn to back down first. This wasn't a battle of strength, it was a battle of will and one he wasn't planning on losing. Then she did something so unexpected that it took a moment to register. A moment that could turn out fatal. She kissed him.

The moment her lips crashed against his the cold started spreading. At first it was just his lips that were going numb but within seconds he felt the nerve endings of his face starting to freeze. It was the same thing he saw happening back in the bar when Killer Frost managed to kill a man within a minute by a single kiss of death. Realizing that she was trying to kill him he remembered a conversation he had with Cisco a long time ago about speed and cold being opposites. Therein lay the answer. All he needed to do was vibrate. Something that wasn't that hard because his body was already shivering. He concentrated and his body started vibrating on a high frequency, unable to detect from the naked eye but the movement created heat. Enough to thaw his insides and it didn't stop there. Killer Frost noticed the heat that was coming from him and something changed. The kiss deepened, became more passionate and instead of holding him in a deadlock her arms circled around him in a tight embrace. He even heard her moan softly against his lips and that made every rational thought disappear from his mind. She pressed up against him to feel the vibration and he was all too happy to accommodate her. His hand weaved through her hair as his other hand slid down her back to her firm behind. A groan passed his lips when rubbed her hips against his. He wanted her so badly and his hands were already finding the lace of her corset when they were interrupted by voices closing in.

He cursed under his breath when Killer Frost released him, straightening her clothes as if nothing happened while he was still catching his breath.  
"There you are. Dude, what happened to you? We've been walking through these freaking woods for hours with Barry 2.o, which between you and I..is no picnic. It's like Bear Grylls and Wikipedia had a baby, slapped a bow tie on him and sent him off to become a forensic scientist. Dude are you okay? You look a bit flushed."  
Cisco slapped him on the shoulder and he smiled back. He was genuinely happy to see them but that kiss was still playing on his mind and he was desperately hoping the erection in his pants would go down.  
"Yeah, I'm fine. Must be from running. " He let his eyes go over the strange group of people and lingered on his other self. At that moment Killer Frost stepped forward. Iris immediately went for her gun, pointing it at the blonde woman.

"What's she doing here? Get on the ground, now!" she yelled, still pointing her gun and removing the safety. Barry quickly got in the line of fire, blocking Iris' view of Killer Frost. He didn't need to see Killer Frost to imagine the annoyed look on her face when she muttered "are you sure you don't want me to kill her?"  
"Iris, put the gun down. She's here to help." He spoke loud enough for everyone to hear because Iris wasn't the only one surprised by Killer Frost's presence.  
"Put it down and I will tell you everything. She wants to help because of what Zoom did to Ronnie. She's the one that brought us to his lair and she's the one that can get us in. We need her, alright?"

Iris clearly wasn't convinced but dropped the gun and then his counterpart stepped forward, his hand extended to Killer Frost.  
"This is so amazing. You're Killer Frost. You're like one of the most wanted fugitives on our list. Well, not the most wanted because obviously that's Zoom but certainly top 3. And you're hiding out in these woods! The captain is going to have to pay up because I told him but he didn't want to do a sweep. Budget cuts and all. You know how it goes. Anyway, it's an honor to finally meet you and let me just say that your wanted posters don't do you any justice."  
Both Iris and Barry rolled their eyes and when he looked at Cisco his friend nodded as if he wanted to say "see what I've been dealing with?"

 **I'm having way too much fun writing this story so it's probably a good thing that I have a busy week coming up. That will give me time to take a step back and think about where this is going. So to be continued in a few days. Hopefully.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Eric:**

 **Merci. Espérons que le nouveau chapitre aiment aussi**

 **ShayverideFan:**

 **That's so sweet! I think it would be impossible for Barry not to be attracted to KF and he'll be imagining Caitlin wearing that outfit a lot once he's back home.**

Everything was taking too long for Harrison Wells so he stepped forward while flinging his tachyon gun over his shoulder .  
"Fangirl on your own time, Allen. Every minute we're wasting down here my daughter could be in trouble. So let's give the lady some room to do whatever it is that she does and build that bridge to Zoom's hideout."  
"It's called a lair, Harry" Cisco smirked.

Iris pulled her husband back to a safe distance and as they shared a moment Barry averted his eyes. It wasn't that he was jealous, the kiss with Iris proved once and for all that the puppy love he once felt for their Iris was just that, puppy love. What really stung was seeing that intimacy, the unspoken link of trust and support. Then it hit him. He had all of that back home. There was someone he confided in, that always had his back in any situation, someone that made him smile on even the darkest of days. He had all of that with Caitlin. But they were friends and he was sure that she never thought of him that way either.  
"Allen, let's go!"

Harry's voice brought him back to reality and joined the others watching Killer Frost manipulate temperature by simply waving her hands and creating ice out of thin air. He wasn't the only one that was impressed by Killer Frost's powers judging from the oohs and aahs that sounded around them. Slowly but certainly a staircase materialized and when it was done Killer Frost turned with a smug smile on her face and her eyes on Harry's gun.  
"I hope you brought more than just that gun because that's not going to stop Zoom. Last chance to bow out now."  
Harry stepped forwards and snarled "Don't underestimate me, blondie. I'm getting Jesse back or die trying."  
"Dying it is then," Killer Frost retorted cheerfully and then set her first steps on the ladder.  
"Wait, we're all going up there? I don't know if I can make it. You know..wingtips" Barry2 whispered to Iris.

"Maybe you should this one out. Stay here. I'm sure we can handle this without you," Iris whispered back but Barry2 didn't seem convinced.  
"No, you are my wife and if someone is going to protect you then it should be me." He glanced at Barry and then straightened his shoulders.

They all started climbing the icy stairs. Killer Frost leading the group, slowly followed by Barry and the others. The height wasn't the problem but the cold quickly started to spread through their bodies and slowing them down. In order to distract him from the freezing cold he caught up to Killer Frost.

"Soo…that kiss happened."  
The moment he uttered the words he realized how awkward that sounded but the others were still a few feet behind and this could be the only time he had to address what happened earlier.. She didn't look back but kept climbing as if she didn't hear him at all. It made him try again but with less confidence.  
"Don't you think we should talk about it? Well, maybe you don't but I think we should. It was pretty amazing. Even you have to agree to that."  
She slowly turned her head to glare at him and then looked back down further down the stairs. He followed her eyes and noticed that she was glaring at Iris too. Then she started climbing faster.

He caught up to her without problem but by doing so they created more distance with the others.  
"Oh come on. You can't still be mad about Iris. I told you, she's married to other Barry. When you were younger didn't you have a crush on someone? You probably liked Olav. Anyway, eventually you grow over that. Granted, for me that took a lot longer. What I would like to know is why you care so much about that. "  
Now she stopped and hissed at him.  
"Save your energy for when you face off with Zoom. I do NOT want to talk about that kiss. It was a mistake, so drop it."  
"No. I won't and I know you don't mean that. You felt something when we kissed and that scares you. And something else..you don't get to be angry at me since you tried to kill me. You tried to freeze me with that kiss and don't bother trying to deny that either. You're making this about Iris because you're afraid."  
Killer Frost's hand squeezed around the railing so tightly that a piece of ice broke off and tumbled into the deep. Their eyes locked and an involuntary shiver went down his spine again. The way she was looking at him he feared that he would quickly follow that piece of ice.

"There is nothing to deny. Yes, I tried to kill you because you wouldn't shut up and quite frankly, I'm very tempted right now to give it another shot. But if you think that I kissed you because I have a crush on you, you're mistaken. Ronnie is the only man I've ever loved and that will never change. You know what else will never change? Me. You want me to be someone I am not. I'm not like the Caitlin from your Earth so stop trying to make me like her. And stop calling me Cait."  
Her last words echoed and bounced off the side of the mountain, making the others look up with curiosity and concern. Barry gave Cisco a nervous smile but then they started climbing again.  
"You're jealous of Caitlin now?"  
Maybe it wasn't smart to poke the bear further but her words were really starting to piss him off.  
She chuckled mockingly and didn't even bother to look back at him.  
"She sounds way too sweet and I don't do sweet. But if you like her so much, why haven't you asked her out? "  
Her question took him by surprise and he took some time to think about it.  
"Because..we're friends. And timing. First she was mourning Ronnie and I wasn't over Iris and then Ronnie came back and they got married.."

It now started to make sense why he felt so sick that day. At the time he thought it was because of the man in yellow and tension running high but now he realized that what really upset him was seeing her marry someone that wasn't him. For someone that smart he'd been pretty clueless.  
Because he stopped talking Killer Frost looked back, a brow arched.  
"But Ronnie is dead on your Earth too."  
He flashed a sad smile.  
"Yeah, he is. He died saving us when a singularity formed over the city. She was crushed and it was my fault. After that we didn't see each other for a few months but she came back to STAR labs and then she met Jay. And I met Patty."

He thought about he sabotaged that relationship. On paper Patty was the perfect girl for him. They both worked for the CCPD, they had similar interests and the same sense of humor and she was stunningly beautiful. Still, he couldn't bring himself to tell her about the most important part of his life. How the explosion of the particle accelerator had changed his and made him the fastest man alive. He convinced himself that he couldn't put her in danger by telling her but that wasn't the complete truth. Not that it mattered. She was gone and doing what she was always meant to do. Hopefully she was happy.

Killer frost groaned under her breath.  
"Boohoo, you're breaking my heart with your sob stories. Now shut the hell up because we're there."  
She gestured to the entrance to a cavity in the wall and then signaled the others to be quiet. He hang back to wait for Cisco while she climbed the last part.  
"You okay?" he asked his friend while pulling him up.  
"I bet you're regretting all those Big Belly burgers now, huh?"  
"Very funny, Barry" Cisco replied while holding back a smile.  
"What were you and Elsa talking about? It looked pretty intense"  
Barry sighed and then shrugged it off.  
"It's nothing. She's complicated. One moment she's trying to kill me and the next she's kissing. Women!"  
Cisco looked at him with a stunned expression on his face.  
"And the name Killer Frost didn't tip you off that that's what she does? She kills people. It's in her nature. Wait, did you say kiss?"  
"Meh, she's not as bad as you think," Barry replied and helped Cisco onto the platform outside the entrance. While they waited for the others Cisco turned to him.  
"She may look like our Caitlin but I don't think they have anything in common. She's a villain working for Zoom and you shouldn't trust her. I think you're playing with fire."  
Barry looked at his friend knowing that he had a point but still he wanted to believe in Killer Frost too. That she was a victim of circumstance and that she deserved a second chance.  
"I'm not playing with fire," he smirked. "I'm playing with ice."  
"Oh boy.." Cisco muttered just as Killer Frost returned.  
"No sign of Zoom but we should hurry just the same. I do not want to be here when he returns."  
"Great, let's go" Harry answered for the group and pushed past the others to get inside. The had no choice but to follow closely behind.

 **So just E2 this chapter but I hope you like it anyway.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Sorry for taking so long. I've had so little time to write and I'm afraid it shows in this chapter.**

Breaking and entering was never his thing but creeping into the lair of the person you hate more than anything in the world was a whole new level of creepy. At the same time there was excitement in the air that they were finally doing something. Wells was ahead of the group with Killer Frost but after the conversation on the stairs he stayed back with the others. Killer Frost's intentions might have been different but in a way she did open his eyes to things he hadn't considered before. At least she gave him plenty to think about for once they got home. If they got home. It was already hours past the time they said they would be back and it could take even longer if Jesse wasn't there. Suddenly Harry stopped, causing the rest of them to do the same and hold their breaths.  
"Listen" he whispered. Within the walls of cave a voice echoed. A young woman speaking in a hushed tone but loud enough for them to hear. It sparked Harry into action as he threw all caution to the wind and started running, calling out to his daughter. The others tried telling him to keep quiet but the usually so calm and rational Harry had only one goal. To get to his daughter. They reached an open space, dimly lit by a few candlesticks along the walls and emergency lighting in what looked like cells in cavities in wall of the cave. They were all different in size and setup but Harry stormed to one with a young girl inside.  
"Jess, thank God. Are you okay? I'm gonna get you out of here."  
The look on Jesse's face was one of disbelief and hope. Her clothes were dirty and her fingernails torn off and it became clear that the girl had been through a lot in the time she'd been there. Harry pulled on the bars but then noticed the large chain attached to an even bigger lock. He turned to Killer Frost and gestured to the lock.  
"A little help please.."  
She shrugged but didn't move. Instead she lifted her chin in defiance and stared back at Harrison.  
"That wasn't the deal. I brought you here, as promised. I said nothing about helping you break out any prisoners."  
Barry quickly stepped in between since Harry looked like he was about to go for Killer Frost's throat and it took only one glance from him to make her sigh dramatically. Freezing the chain only took a few seconds and then it crumbled like a cookie, freeing Jesse and returning her to her father's arms.  
"Guys..I don't want to rush you but we should get out of here before Zoom comes back." Cisco was standing watch by the entrance but he clearly was feeling nervous.  
"No, we can't go yet. Not without him" Jesse called out and then grabbed harry by his shoulders.  
"Dad, we can't leave him behind."  
Now it was Harry's turn to look confused.  
"Who? What are you talking about? We have to go, Jess"  
"Him. He was here before Zoom brought me here and he's been here ever since. I'm not leaving him behind."  
She gestured to a dark cell they hadn't noticed before but as soon as Barry approached it he noticed a masked man huddled in the corner. This cell was different than the others. For starters it didn't have bars but the cave was sealed by some sort of polymer or glass but a kind he'd never seen before.  
He glanced at Killer Frost who crossed over to him but when she put her hands on the glass nothing happened. As much as she tried to freeze it, nothing happened. Frustrated she dropped her hands.  
"It's no use. The glass won't freeze so there is nothing I can do."  
He could see that she was telling the truth since she seemed just as surprised by this as they were.  
"Guys, we've got company.."  
Cisco's shaky voice made him look up and a mixture of anger and fear washed over him. Standing only a few feet away was the man they all feared, Zoom, surrounded by the blue lightning.  
In a reflex Barry pulled Killer Frost behind him but Zoom's attention wasn't even directed at them. He was focusing on Jesse and her father.  
"I told you the only reason I was keeping you around was because I wanted to kill you in front of your father. You shouldn't have come here, Harry."

What surprised Barry the most was how calm Zoom acted. Maybe that was a sign of true madness but he didn't seem bothered by the fact that they outnumbered him at all. In fact, Zoom didn't seem impressed or surprised by their presence. As if someone tipped him off and even though the answer was staring him in the face, he didn't want to believe it. She wouldn't do that. Not to him. He turned around to face her but as soon as he saw the look on her face he knew that he was hoping against hope. A cold smirk was on her lips and her brow quirked with amusement.  
"I guess you figured it out, huh? You only saw what you wanted to see but I warned you. It's so much more fun to be bad. Why would I ever give that up."  
She walked around him but as she did she let her hand go over his behind and as much as he despised the betrayal, he craved her touch. It was giving him all kinds of different emotions.  
"Cait.." was all he could bring himself to say as he watched her walk over to Zoom to stand by his side.  
"Why?"  
"Why what?" she replied directly to him as if they were the only two people in the cave. All the warmth was absent from her voice but maybe he imagined it to be there to begin with. He didn't even know what hurt him more. Her delivering them to Zoom or the fact that she made him believe that there was something between them. That the kiss was somehow proof of that.  
"Nothing," he muttered. "I guess it's my own fault for thinking that underneath all that coldness is an actual person. You're still working with him?! After everything?"  
She looked away but he could have sworn he saw her swallow hard. Then Zoom interrupted them.  
"Enough. She does what I tell her to do or else.. Now let's get on with why we are here.."  
As if time itself moved in slow motion he watched as Zoom grabbed Jesse, ready to snap her neck. He heard Harry begging for mercy but fear rendered him helpless. He was a bystander in what could easily be described as a nightmare for many years to come.  
"Zoom, let her go. She's innocent" he managed to get out. Zoom loosened the grip on Jesse's neck but still held her in place while turning his head torturously slow in Barry's direction.  
"Flash…I will get to you next. You can watch how your friends die and then, as you have nothing left and you are begging for me to end it, I will take your speed and become the fastest man alive on both our worlds."  
"Please..don't" Harry's words were directed at Zoom but his eyes never left his daughter.  
"Take me instead but let Jesse go. She hasn't done anything wrong. You want me, not her. "  
Zoom's cold laughter filled the cave as he pulled Jesse's head back so far that she squealed in fear. You could hear people take a sharp intake of breath and holding it. Jesse's expression was heartbreaking. Pain, fear and regret all mixed into one. It was the look of a girl that knew she was about to die but then something completely unexpected happened. Killer Frost, the one person no one was paying attention to, stepped out of the shadow and fired icicles at Zoom. In a split second he let go of Jesse and it was enough for her to jump out of the way. Killer Frost had taken Zoom off guard but everyone knew that it wouldn't last. With every move of her hands she produced more ice to trap him and she managed to work him to the ground, covered in a thick layer of ice and snow.  
"I can't hold him for very long. You have to go NOW" she yelled at the people that were too stunned to move. Then Cisco snapped out of it.  
"She's right. We have to go." He helped Harry with Jesse as they hurried back to the staircase Killer Frost built, followed by Barry2 and Iris but Barry stayed behind.  
"I'm not going without you. He will kill you when he breaks free. We can protect you. You can come with us to our Earth." It made sense in his mind but Killer Frost slowly shook her head.  
"I can't Barry. I have to stay."  
"Cait, don't be stupid. You know what he's capable of. Staying here is suicide. Look, I understand why you felt like you had no choice but you saved us. Without you Jesse would be dead right now."  
Killer Frost looked at him with a sad look on her face. "

"You don't understand. If I leave he'll kill him."  
"Him? Who are you talking about?" Barry stared at her with confused eyes. "Ronnie? He's already dead."  
"No, he isn't."  
Barry's eyes widened even further and for a moment he considered that she was in some sort of shock or at the very least some very heavy denial.  
"I saw him die. We both saw it."  
"You saw a Ronnie die. Deathstorm is the Ronnie from my Earth. Barry, please go. I can't hold him much longer and this might be my only chance to get Ronnie out of here."  
"The Ronnie from this Earth? What other Ronnie.." The sudden realization made it more difficult for him to breathe. In a way it all started to make sense. This all stated the night Eobard Thawne made him travel back in time. The night the singularity opened and swallowed Ronnie. They never found his body. Could it be that Ronnie somehow ended up in a different reality?  
Zoom's body stopped moving but he doubted his nemesis was really dead.


	10. Chapter 10

Flash Frost:  
LOL You completely made my day. I'm so glad you like it!

ShayverideFan:  
GB said that anything is possible in the Multiverse so I guess it could happen. But in my heart of hearts I want Cait to be with Barry but if that's not possible than Ronnie is the next best thing, sort of, maybe..

Earth one

What started as a dull throbbing behind her eyes had now developed into a full-fledged migraine and it was blurring her vision. Tired and frustrated she rubbed her temples and closed her eyes for a few seconds. Everyone was right, she needed sleep but as long as the team was still on the other Earth there wasn't a single molecule in her body considering taking a rest.  
"Caitlin, are you okay?"  
She looked up and saw Iris standing in the door of the medical bay. She smiled and forced a small smile.  
"I'm fine. Just a little tired. Is there news?"  
It was a question she already knew the answer to because if there was, someone would have called her back down already. As expected Iris slowly shook her head and pursed her lips.  
"Nope. My dad promised to let us know the moment there is any movement but so far nothing happened. It's been two days since.." Iris' voice trailed off.  
"Don't remind me" Caitlin replied with a small voice. "But we're not giving up hope yet. They are coming back. I know they will."  
She looked Iris in the eye and gave her an encouraging nod. "We just have to keep believing that they will find a way back to us. I trust Barry. You should too."  
Iris smiled back but she wasn't sure if she'd been able to convince her friend that everything would be okay. How could she when she wasn't even sure of that herself?  
"Hey, have you seen Jay by any chance? He's not in the cortex and he's not down in the basement with my dad. I was sort of expecting him to find him here with you but clearly he's not."  
Caitlin's forehead creased.  
"He must be around here somewhere. Are you sure he's not monitoring the breach?" She tried to remember the last conversation she had with him but couldn't remember the details of where he said he was going. Mostly because she was simply too tired.  
"I think he probably needed some fresh air. Jay feels responsible for what happened. Even though I've told him that it was their decision to go. I'm sure he'll be back soon."  
She tried to make it sound as upbeat as possible but this wasn't the first time Jay disappeared in the middle of the day and now others were starting to notice it too. Jay didn't know anyone on this Earth so where would he go?  
"Is that the Velocity 9?"  
Iris' voice distracted her from her thoughts.  
"Uhm, yeah. I'm still trying to find a cure for Jay and it seemed to be working for a while but now his cells have started to deteriorate again. Seems like the V9 is only a temporary solution to the problem and not a permanent cure. But we'll find one. I'm sure of it."  
The frustration in her voice was noticeable and Iris picked up on it.  
"If anyone can do it, you can."  
A genuine smile broke on Caitlin's face.  
"Hopefully. But how are you doing? I mean it must be tough on you too. I know we haven't talked a lot since Eddie.. And now all of this. If there is anything I can do for you, you know I'm here."  
Iris looked down at her hands in her lap and paused.  
"I think about Eddie every day and I still miss him. I don't think that will ever change. When Eddie died, part of me died with him. That's just the way it is. But Barry, he's not gone. He went to save Jesse and help his friends. That's what Barry does but I hope he hasn't run into any real trouble over there. Because there isn't a whole lot we know about Earth two."  
That's when they heard a buzzing and Joe's frantic voice sounded over the intercom.  
"Guys, you better get back down here. Now"

Adrenaline was coursing through their veins as they rushed down to the basement where the breach was. Joe was standing close to it, anticipation written all over his face.  
"It started a few minutes ago. Changing shapes and, I guess you could call it gaps, sending images from another Earth. It has to be Barry trying to break through! Tell me how we can help them."  
He grabbed Caitlin arms and watched her intently. Behind him the portal started to change shape again and all three watched closely with bathed breath for something to emerge. At the same moment Jay strolled back in but he took one look at the portal and his eyes widened.  
"Stand back," he warned Joe and gestured the cop to move away.  
"Once the breach opens the energy could suck you in so you have to keep your distance."  
It was easier said than done because Joe was anxious to see his stepson and could barely contain himself.

Earth two.

"What the.." Barry mumbled as he glanced from Killer Frost to unconscious Zoom back to Killer Frost. She walked straight passed him to the cell in the back with the man in the iron mask and ignored his questions. Instead she used her powers to try to break the glass but no matter how hard she tried, the glass wouldn't break. It only angered her more. Inside the cell the man was trying to stand but in his weakened state it was taking a lot out of him.  
"Don't just stand there. Help me get him out," she snapped at Barry but his head was still reeling from everything he was seeing. Besides, this was his chance to get rid of Zoom for once and for all. He knelt down next to Zoom and put his hands on either side of his head but then he hesitated. Part of him wanted to find out who was under the hood but another part of him just wanted to get it over with. Curiosity won and with one pull the mask came off, causing Barry to tumble back and gasping for air as soon as he saw the face of the man that had haunted him for months. The face of Jay Garrick.  
"No! This can't be happening. Not again. It's not Jay." He scrambled back and hid his face in his hands, trying to make sense of it all. He had to fight the urge to run as the gravity of his discovery dawned on him. They trusted him, told him their secrets. Jay helped him get faster and defeat the Metas that Zoom sent through the breaches. Metas /he/ sent himself. But why? Why befriend all of them, become a mentor of sorts and make Caitlin fall in love with him. Cait! Her name had a sobering effect on him. Caitlin didn't know that the man she fell for was in fact Zoom. The betrayal would kill her. Especially once she found out that Ronnie, her Ronnie, was still alive and had a thing for her doppelganger on this Earth. Suddenly rage was bubbling to the surface and for no particular reason at all it was now directed at the man behind the seemingly unbreakable glass. Barry flashed out of the cave until there was enough distance between him and the cell before doubling back at double the speed. Just before he reached the glass he held back and used the speedforce to create a sonic punch. The sound of the blast resonated within the small space, making everyone fall to their knees and covering their ears but even that didn't prevent his ears from ringing while the glass slowly started to break. First it was just a small crack but once Killer Frost froze it, it started to crack further and further and with a small tap the glass shattered. Barry was still on his knees and watched how Killer Frost rushed over to the masked man, freezing the lock that held his mask in place and then removing it with more care than he'd seen from her thus far. It would have been a really nice moment if it weren't for the fact that this was Ronnie.  
He didn't quite understand why seeing Ronnie and Killer Frost embrace made him so angry but it did.  
His fists clenched while he pushed himself up, looking away from the couple until Ronnie said his name.  
"Barry, I can't thank you enough. Zoom..he's been keeping me here for weeks and I was starting to think that I was going to die here. How..how is Caitlin?"  
He extended his hand but Barry looked at it with disgust.  
"I didn't do it for you. You were alive all this time. You don't have the right to ask how she's doing. Do you have any idea what you put Caitlin though or do you even care? You died..twice. She mourned you, man. She was a wreck after the singularity swallowed you and she's been blaming herself ever since that day. But you..you never even tried to get back to her. I guess you found a replacement pretty fast." He now glanced at Killer Frost but her face was lacking any emotion, as usual. But Barry wasn't finished yet. He stepped closer to her.  
"Just tell me why! You knew that he wasn't from this Earth but you said nothing. Not even when I told you about my Caitlin. I can't believe I felt bad for you when Deathstorm was killed because I've seen what it did to Caitlin and I didn't want you to go through all of that too. But you weren't grieving at all. Is that why you agreed to help me? Not because you wanted to get revenge for Deathstorm but because you thought it was the only way to free Ronnie? You used me!"  
Killer Frost seemed more amused than anything else but once she started speaking he could hear a strain in her voice.  
"It was the only way to get him out. Deathstorm and I had to pretend to be together so Zoom would think that I gave up looking for Ronnie. And I knew I couldn't tell you the truth so I did what I had to do."  
"And kissing me, was that part of the plan too or were you just improvising there?" Barry retorted, his voice laced with sarcasm.  
"You kissed him?" Ronnie asked surprised and slightly annoyed.  
"Shut up" both Barry and Killer Frost snapped back at him while glaring at each other.  
"You didn't seem to mind," Killer Frost simply stated and then shrugged as if it meant nothing. Maybe it didn't mean anything to her but it meant something to Barry and that bugged him. He let himself get emotionally involved when deep down he knew that he shouldn't have and now it was all a big mess.

They'd been so preoccupied with Ronnie that no one had noticed Zoom waking up until it was too late.  
"You should have killed me while you had the chance, Barry. Now you leave me no choice but to kill everyone you've ever loved. On this Earth and yours."  
Shocked they turned around to see Jay standing there with his Zoom mask in his hand and an evil grin on his face.  
Instinctively Barry moved between his nemesis and the other two while locking eyes with Jay.  
"How is this possible. I left you on my Earth. We closed all the breaches. How can you travel between two worlds?"  
Zoom maniacal laughter filled the room.  
"Always the scientist but you're not as clever as you thought, Barry. I've been travelling back and forth the whole time, right under your noses."  
"Why?" Barry shouted back, "why would you do this to us? I thought we were friends. We trusted you."  
"To get your speed, of course. But I needed to make you faster first and to do that I needed to gain your trust. Yours and everyone else at S.T.A.R. labs. Wells was a challenge because let's face it, he hates the Flash. But you were all so needy," Jay said sarcastically, "all of you. You practically begged me to be your mentor after the Reverse Flash betrayed you and Cisco is so gullible. Wells was a challenge though. And then there was Caitlin. Sweet innocent Caitlin that lost her husband not once but twice. I really had fun gaining her trust and wrapping her around my little finger. What is it with women and broken hearts.."  
"You sonafabitch," Ronnie scowled and stepped closer but Barry leaped forward with his clenched fist aiming at Jay's nose but the speedster easily moved out of range and mocked Barry's attempt.  
"Still not fast enough to catch me."  
He slowly turned his attention to Ronnie and Killer Frost.  
"You know the penalty for betraying me. Deathstorm is dead and now you can join him." He grabbed Killer Frost's neck and picked her up as if she was nothing but a ragdoll. Her feet were kicking while her hands tried to peel him off her. Her face was slowly started to turn as blue as her lips and they could hear her choking sounds. As angry as Barry was at her, he couldn't let Zoom kill her.  
"Put her down" he yelled but Zoom ignored him. Even when Barry punched him he didn't so much as flinch and squeezed Killer Frost's throat even harder.  
"Ronnie, turn your heat on" Barry begged but his old friend dropped his shoulders and looked down.  
Zoom started laughing and slowly put Killer Frost down. As soon as he let go she reached for her throat and coughed between gasps for air.  
"He can't. Ronnie here is completely useless without his counterpart, Dr. Stein. And since he's still on your Earth and moved on with another partner, where does that leave Ronald? Oh yeah, nowhere. Well, there is still some use for him. You see, without someone to merge with the tachyons in his body will start to overheat until…Boom!" Jay's hands mimicked an explosion.  
Barry remembered something similar almost happening to Martin Stein after Ronnie supposedly died so he knew Zoom was telling the truth.  
"That's where the helmet came in. It stabilized him until the moment I was going to use him but now you've ruined the surprise."  
Jay glanced at Killer Frost and smirked. "You can't seem to win on this Earth or any other. I guess that's punishment enough for now just to see you lose someone you care about."  
For a split second he could see the hurt in Killer Frost's eyes but then she composed herself again and put up her cool façade he'd come to know so well.  
Jay turned her back on her and was now closing in on Barry again.  
"Let's get on with it then. Your speed, mister Allen. And maybe I'll consider leaving your friends alive once I return to your Earth."  
Because Jay was so focused on Barry he didn't see Ronnie coming from behind and hitting him hard with the metal helmet he'd been wearing. It was enough to bring Jay down but they all knew it was only for a few moments.  
"You have to help him"  
Barry stared at Killer Frost as she hinted to Ronnie.  
"Take him with you back to your Earth and fix him. He will die if he stays here."  
Ronnie closed the distance between himself and Killer Frost, pulling her closer.  
"Cait, no. I'm not going anywhere without you. Going back to that world isn't an option. Not anymore."  
She smiled faintly and broke free from his embrace.  
"I'm not asking, Ronnie. You have to go. Let the other Caitlin find a way to make you whole again if she's as smart as everyone says. I don't want you to stay here."  
Barry watched the whole thing with a knot in his stomach. He wasn't looking forward to taking Ronnie back with him knowing what it would do to Caitlin. Plus seeing the two kiss wasn't sitting very well with him either.  
As if Killer Frost read his mind she turned to him and gave him a seductive smile.  
"You can do a girl a favor, can't you, handsome?" Even if he didn't want to a smile still crossed his face.  
"Ronnie is right. If you stay here you're as good as dead. So you have to come as well."  
She opened her mouth to voice an objection but he caught her off quickly.  
"I'll take both of you with me or none of you. It's your choice and since Jay is waking up, you better make it fast"  
All three looked at Jay who was rising to his feet again but still finding his balance.  
"Screw it, you don't have a choice" Barry muttered and grabbed both Ronnie and Killer Frost before bolting out of the cave in a flash.


	11. Chapter 11

He watched her from behind the glass. The brilliant scientist that always knew just the right thing to say in any crisis, the woman that could make anyone smile under the most difficult circumstances with a kindhearted remark and impeccable instincts whenever anyone needed a hug. He wished he knew what to say to her now to offer any kind of comfort when it was her world that came crashing down once again. He had to wonder if Cisco was right when he said that this could easily be the thing to push Caitlin over the edge. The worst part was that if it was, he couldn't even blame her. Refusing to entertain the thought any longer he moved forward and into the room that once belonged to Jay Garrick. Or the one they believed to be Jay.  
Caitlin looked up from the improvised bed she'd been sitting on and his heart fell. Her eyes were red so he knew she'd been crying but in a strange way it was a relief. Ever since she saw Jay being pulled back through the portal she'd been holding back her emotions and pretended that she was okay. Not that she was fooling anyone, least of all Cisco and himself, or even Harry. He'd seen her do it before when Ronnie died the second time and as much as he wanted to believe that they'd come a long way since then, the truth was that the wall that took so long to take down was up again and she was hiding behind it.  
"Hey," he started tentatively and offered a small smile but when she only vaguely returned it he moved closer and sat down next to her. She dropped her gaze to the journal she was holding and bit her lip.  
"We were wondering where you were."  
"We?" she asked with a tired voice.  
"Cisco, Harry..me, we're all worried about you, Cait. What are you doing here in Jay's room?"  
When he mentioned his name her head shot up and her eyes met his. He expected the despair but what he didn't expect to see was the anger that was written all over her face.  
"It was all a joke to him. Did you know?"  
"What was? You mean Jay?" he asked carefully.  
"Yes," she replied with a harsh tone. "It's all in here." She held up the journal for him to see but when he reached out to take it from her she pulled it back as if it was now her most prized possession.  
"Is that his? What's in there? What did you read?" Barry was now really getting worried because the way she was acting.  
"It's all in here how he planned to take your speed long before he even came to STAR labs. He talks about how he watched all of us after that day when the anomaly opened. It was all a setup. He figured out what each of us needed after the Reverse Flash and he became that person. You needed a mentor, Cisco needed a friend who he could trust and I.."  
He heard a sob in her voice and wanted to wrap his arm around her but then she continued and the moment past so he let her speak.  
"A chain is only as strong as the weakest link and I guess I was that link."  
"Cait, that's not true. You're not weak. You lost Ronnie twice and you survived. You'll survive this too. Don't read that journal. Jay is deranged. He played all of us."  
He tried again to take the journal from her but she leaped up from the bed and walked to the far side of the room.  
"No, he was right. I fell for him because I wanted to believe that it was true. That this great guy from another world liked me for me. But I was dumb. Here, he even talks about how easy it was. He's making fun of me even from these pages. I'm pathetic.."

Her voice was now small since she was trying to hold her emotions in. He was having the same problem but instead of sorrow he was fighting his anger. How dare Jay make her feel like she was worthless? How dare he break her already fragile heart. How dare he break his Cait.  
In a flash he crossed over to her and pulled the journal out of her hand, sending it flying through the room. Then he lifted her chin and forced her to look into his eyes.  
"He's wrong. Cait, he didn't deserve you. He used you the same way he used all of us and I don't know if he's really dead or not but if he isn't, I promise you that I'll make him pay."  
The corners of her mouth curled up in a weak smile  
"He has won, Barry. It's over. Even Ronnie didn't.." Her voice trailed off but this time he truly didn't know what to say. Instead he sighed and pulled her into a tight hug while his mind returned to the events that changed everything. It seemed like a lifetime ago when it'd only been three days.

 **3 days earlier:**

With Zoom closing fast he made the jump through the portal, flashing by the images of alternate universes and alternate timelines. There was no time for slowing down because if Zoom caught up to him it wouldn't just be his life that could end, it would also mean the death of Killer Frost and Ronnie that he was carrying with him. As soon as he cleared the breach and jumped from the Speed Canon he yelled.  
"Close the breach! He's coming!"  
Joe reacted immediately and shut down the machine but he knew Zoom was still in the time stream so he moved everyone back. For a moment there was some confusion. Caitlin stared at Killer Frost and Ronnie, Iris launched herself at him and Joe was smiling widely but he only had eyes for Jay standing smug to the side of the Speed Canon.  
"You..," Barry started and took a step in Jay's direction when Iris blocked his path.  
"Barry, you're home. We were so worried when you didn't make it back."  
He looked at her and even managed a smile. He couldn't wait to take her to Jitters and tell her all about the adventures on Earth 2, how he met their other versions and that they were married there. But all of that would have to wait because even though they were home, they weren't out of danger yet. Not with Jay still standing there. The breach was slowly collapsing when Jay walked towards Caitlin. She was still standing motionless staring at Ronnie, undoubtably in shock and not realizing the danger she was in.  
The moment she turned her head towards him it happened. A hand reached through the portal and moved right through Jay's chest. Everything seemed to happen in slowmotion, including Caitlin's scream that reached his ears after the hand pulled the lifeless body through the breach. Other that the sound of the scream that filled the room, everyone else watched in silence. Horror and disbelief was on everyone's faces as they tried to wrap their head around what they'd just seen.  
"Caitlin, I'm so sorry" Iris whispered first but it was Cisco that walked towards her. Caitlin brushed his hand away and walked over to the breach.  
"No, this isn't happening." She turned around and looked at the stunned group with wide eyes.

"Jay isn't dead. He is not dead. Not again."  
"Cait.." he replied softly but the look she shot back at him made him swallow the rest of that sentence.  
"I thought you said she was so smart" Killer Frost smirked to Ronnie. "I think she's a little bit in denial. Don't know why though. Unless it's different on this Earth but on ours when someone's heart is ripped from their chest, they usually die. That thing is closed now, right?"  
She turned to Joe who slowly nodded while eyeing Killer Frost as if he'd now noticed her for the first time.  
"Good," she replied. "Now let's get a drink. I'm in the mood for something cold."  
As she headed towards the door she stopped in front of Caitlin and smirked.  
"Ronnie said you were a bit stiff but honey, that lab coat is not working for you. Have you seen our body?"

 **So now that they are back, where should this story go? Snowbarry or Flahfrost? I can't decide because both would be fun. What do you guys think?**


	12. Chapter 12

**So sorry you had to wait so long for an update. The next chapter will be here sooner. Especially when lives depend on it. ;) Anyway, I hope you guys like it.**

He unbuttoned his pants and sighed as he leaned back in his chair. "That was the best meal I've had in a long time. Are you sure you don't need help clearing the dishes?" Iris smiled back at him and picked up the plate in front of him.  
"No, don't worry about it. You just got home from travelling to another world and saving Harry's daughter, the least we can do is give you a proper home cooked meal. Right, dad?" Joe beamed at the two of them and nodded. "Hell yes. I still can't wrap my head around the fact that you were on another Earth though. You still haven't given us any specifics though."  
"Well, it's not like we've had a lot of time to talk ever since I came back. Things are pretty tense at the moment at S.T.A.R. labs."  
Joe and Iris glanced at each other but neither one commented and continued to clear the table. When they were done they returned with three steaming cups of coffee and settled on the couch.  
"How's everyone handling what happened with Jay?" Iris tentatively asked.  
"Dunno," Barry replied. "Caitlin..she's strong but it's not just losing Jay, it's finding out that he was Zoom. He played us and we didn't see it coming. Again. It's like the Reverse-Flash all over again. We let someone into our lives and all he wanted was my speed. He hurt all of us but her the most. Not just on this Earth." Frustration echoed through his voice but his remarks raised Iris and Joe's eyebrows.  
"What do you mean, not just this Earth?"  
"Killer Frost," Barry retorted. "He terrorized her. Kept Ronnie prisoner and threatened to kill him if she didn't do his bidding. She teamed up with Earth two's Ronnie just to convince Zoom that she didn't care about him, hoping that he would let him go. It didn't work and Zoom killed Deathstorm right in front of her. The guy was a douche but still. Seeing it happening right in front of me brought back so many memories of the night Ronnie died. Or at least we thought he did."  
"And now he's back" Iris said softly before taking another sip of her coffee.  
"Yep, now he's back." Barry paused, the crease in his forehead deepening the way it always did when something bothered him.  
"You don't seem happy about it." He glanced at Iris and gave her a half smile.  
"I just don't get the attraction. I feel for the guy, really..I do. I've seen Zoom's lair so I know it must have been hard being locked up and fearing for your life but come on! When he first got there he made no attempt to find a way home? He had a wife here, people who cared about him. We had a memorial for the guy and he just started a new life with Killer Frost without even thinking about what his death would do to Cait. Zoom only got to her because she was in mourning. Besides, I don't see that working out anyway. With Killer Frost I mean. She is so..and he's Ronnie."  
Iris held back a smile when she nudged him. "Barry Allen, are you jealous?"  
"Whoa?" Barry replied insulted, "of course not! I'm just saying that it's a complicated situation and someone is going to get hurt."  
"Right," Iris smirked and then put her mug down on the table. "So did you meet our doppelgangers while you were there?"

He'd been dreading this conversation ever since he came home. Harry's warning still lingered in the back of his mind. Would telling them about their lives on Earth two impact their lives here. But looking at two sets of expecting eyes he knew that he had to tell them something.  
"Well, for starters you and I are married there. Or the versions of us are. And you're a detective. And Joe, you're a lounge singer. You're not half bad either." He grinned sheepishly while rubbing the back of his neck.  
"We were married? Like the newspaper article.." Iris stumbled.  
"Yeah, Barry and Iris there were very much in love." Looking at Iris he could see the wheels spinning but he didn't have the heart to tell her the truth. That conversation had to wait for another day.  
Luckily Joe had plenty of questions about his singing career and he spent the better part of the night filling them in on every small detail of the rescue. Except the part about Killer Frost and him kissing. Somehow he couldn't bring himself to tell them that.

After a night of tossing and turning he got up early and decided to go to S.T.A.R. labs first before heading into work at the CCPD. As soon as he stepped of the elevator he was greeted with yelling and icicles flying through the cortex. He quickly ducked behind a console where Cisco was hiding too.  
"What the hell is going on here? Why is Killer Frost mad?"  
"Because she's crazy?" Cisco shot back at him and then peeked around the desk to see what was happening in the medical bay.  
"One moment she's fine, or as fine as that woman can be considering she shoots ice from her hands. Oh I'm so having Frozen flahsbacks again. I swear is she starts singing Letting go.."  
"Cisco!" Barry snapped at his friend, "what happened?"  
"I don't know. Everything was fine earlier. We even had a civil conversation and then she went to check on Ronnie and that's when the snow hit the fan. Maybe Caitlin said something to set her off."  
"Caitlin is with Ronnie?" There was an edge to his voice when he asked the question but Cisco didn't seem to pick up on it. Instead his friend nodded."  
"Yeah. She's been with him all night watching his vitals."  
Barry groaned and rose to his feet. "Okay, I got this."  
He moved closer to the door separating the medical bay from the cortex and carefully looked through the glass. Ronnie was still in bed and both women were on either side looking at each other as if they wanted to kill each other. The problem was that one was actually capable of doing so and he couldn't let that happen. With both hands raised he entered the room that already felt considerably cooler than anyone would consider comfortable.  
"Ladies.." he started carefully as he moved closer to the edge of the bed. Ronnie exhaled in relief but he was more concerned for the two women. The tension between them was palpable and it looked that neither one was backing down. "Why don't we step out and let Ronnie rest for a while?" The words hadn't passed his lips or both Caits started to object.  
"She can go. I have tests to run and she's only getting in the way. And you said it yourself, Ronnie needs his rest. He's been through hell on Earth 2 and he's probable suffering from Stockholm syndrome. That's the only explanation I can think of that would explain him and..her" Caitlin pointed at Killer Frost and rolled her eyes. Killer Frost responded by giving her an icy glare before planting her hands in her side and flip her hair. "Or maybe he chose to stay because he found a real woman to satisfy his every need"  
"Ice cold bitch more likely" Caitlin shot back.  
"I might be cold but at least I'm not frigid.." Killer Frost retorted with a smirk.  
Barry quickly moved between them and held Caitlin back from a clawing Killer Frost. "Okay, let's all calm down." His eyes bore into Caitlin's. "Cait, I know you've been through a lot but it's a difficult situation for everyone involved." Just when he saw her face soften, Killer Frost added more fuel to the fire by leaning over Ronnie and stroking his face, her lips mere inches away from his.

"That's it, get away from him!" Caitlin growled and pushed Killer Frost. She temporarily lost her balance but responded with an icy spice aimed directly at Caitlin's chest. Barry quickly reacted and intercepted it before it could do any damage. Temperature in the room dropped so rapidly that they could see their own breaths, a clear sign that Killer Frost was at a tipping point.  
"She needs to fix him so we can get the hell out of here. " she hissed while pointing at Caitlin. The responds came from the person she least expected. Ronnie Raymond.

"I'm not going back" His words surprised all three of them but Ronnie kept his eyes fixed on Killer Frost. "What do you mean? Are you saying you want to stay on this earth?" Her voice seemed calm but he could hear the tension in every syllable. Ronnie's eyes shifted away to Barry and Caitlin.  
"Could you guys give us a minute?"  
"Sure.." Barry's hand snaked around Caitlin's waist as he ushered her towards the cortex.  
"We'll be right outside if you need anything."

As soon as the sliding doors closed behind them Caitlin turned to Barry.  
"What are you doing? She could kill him in there. Didn't you see what she tried to do to me?"  
"Come on, Cait. You know she's not going to hurt Ronnie. She cares about him." The look on her face made him regret his choice of words. "I'm sorry, okay? I know this isn't fair to you and I'm not even going to pretend that I know how you're feeling right now with everything that happened but Ronnie is the one that has to decide for himself what he wants to do next." He hoped that the dislike for the guy wasn't sounding through his words. When he looked into her eyes he saw the fear and it made him pull her into a hug.  
"I don't want to lose him for the third time" she whimpered. He held on tighter and decided not to say what he was really thinking. That she deserved better. At that moment the door opened and Killer Frost stormed past them in a gust of cold air and snow, like a blizzard blowing through the cortex. He wanted to follow but Caitlin was still holding him and now she pulled him back. "Let her go, Barry."  
"I agree with Dr. Snow," Harry added, brushing the snow from the desk. "Besides, there is work to do. I have a theory on the Zoom situation.." Barry glanced at the door again but then turned his focus back to Harrison Wells. "Zoom's gone. What else is there to say?" From the corner of his eye he saw Caitlin rushing back to Ronnie's side and the way they were smiling at each other made his stomach churn. Harry moved over to one of the computers and started punching in a few keys until a map of the city appeared on the screen.  
"Well, now that we know that Jay Garrick and Zoom are one and the same there is something that keeps bothering me. How did he manage to cross the breach without us noticing it? We know he was on Earth 2 when we were there but he was here when we got back. And we closed all the other breaches. So how did he do it?"  
Cisco stared at the map on his computer. "What if he didn't use an existing breach. What if he can create one? Think about it. There are no Tachyon concentrations showing on the map so there are no breaches left in Central City. Jay probably had more powers than we thought he had. Like how could he even go through the breach without any speedforce in his system?" Cisco raised some valid questions, things pocket and glanced at it. 2 Missed calls from Joe and one message asking him where the hell he was.  
In all the consternation he totally forgot about work. "I'll check in with you guys later but I have to go or Joe is going to kill me." He bolted out of S.T.A.R. labs in a flash of red only to stop in an alley behind the crime scene. At the crime scene he flashed his badge to the officers keeping the public at bay and walked towards the covered body on the sidewalk. Joe gave him a stern look when he saw his stepson but kept his comments to himself. Unlike the captain that turned to Barry and scowled, "how nice of you to join us, Mr. Allen. We've only been waiting here for half an hour." Barry muttered an apology and knelt next to the body, lifting the sheet with his gloved hand. The memory of Jay flooded his brain when looked down at the corpse of a man with a hole in his chest where his heart supposed to be and he couldn't shake the feeling that this victim was somehow connected to his arch enemy.


	13. Chapter 13

Barry glanced at Joe and the look on his face confirmed that they were both thinking the same thing. But that was impossible. They both were there when Jay died right in front of them. There was no way he could be responsible for the victim lying in the street.  
"So what can you tell us, Allen. Is this Zoom's work because if it is, I'm doubling the agents on this case. That guy is really starting to become a pain in the ass and the mayor is already breathing down my neck about all these meta humans or whatever you want to call them roaming the streets of Central City and I swear, this thing has to be contained." Barry covered the body up again and then rose to his feet. "Well Sir..it looks like this is Zoom's handy work but I need to run a few tests. We might also be looking at a copycat. I mean, there haven't really been any sightings of Zoom lately and it's possible that he's gone." He was carefully choosing his words since he couldn't really tell the captain what happened to Jay. "A copycat? That's just great. Couldn't this be another metahuman with the same mo?"  
"Not sure yet, Sir. Like I said, I would have to run a few more tests."  
"Do it quickly, Allen" his boss replied. "And try to keep this under wraps for now. No press, you hear?" This time the stern look wasn't just for Barry, it was for Joe as well. Then the captain turned and walked back to his car.  
"So what are you thinking? Do we really have a copycat on our hands or is it possible that Zoom is back?" Barry sighed and put his CSI kit on the ground next to the victim. "I don't know, Joe. But this whole thing is giving me a bad feeling."  
"You better get some samples back to S.T.A.R. labs and see if they can come up with a theory." When Barry didn't respond Joe arched a brow with curiosity. "Something going on at S.T.A.R. labs you want to talk about?"  
"No, why would there be anything wrong?" Barry's voice was a little higher than usual and he dropped his gaze to the floor. "What's going on, Barr. Don't tell me nothing because I know you."  
Barry inhaled deeply and then dropped down next to the body, opening is kit and putting on a fresh pair of latex gloves. When he was done he lifted the sheet again and took a few skin samples. "It's been a bit crowded there at the moment with Harry and Jessie staying there and Killer Frost making it uncomfortable for everyone." Joe paused for a second, closely watching is stepson instead of dead body Barry was poking. "Killer Frost and…Ronnie."  
Barry quickly got up and took off his gloves, clearly irritated by Joe's comment.  
"Yeah him too. I don't get why Cait is so happy to see him again. Okay, technically he still is her husband but the guy was living in an alternate reality for a year and he made no attempt to come home. Now he's back and it's like the past year didn't even happen. Like he didn't cheat on her with Killer Frost. I know, I should be happy that he's alive and that he's supposed to be the love of Caitlin's life but I think she deserves better." He ended his comments with a shrug and then pretended to be busy with putting all the evidence he just gathered away.  
"Look, Barry..I've watched you being in love with Iris since you were a little boy.." When Barry opened his mouth to say something Joe waved his hand dismissively and continued. "But the reason you never said anything was because you were in love with the idea of her. That's why the reality didn't match up." Barry looked at Joe with confusion on his face. "What does that have to do with anything?"  
"People aren't perfect and you said it yourself, he is Caitlin's husband. This is between them and you should stay out of it. Sounds to me like you're jealous."  
The only responds Barry gave Joe was a huff. "I better get these to the lab so the medical examiner can take the body. I'll find you when I get the results."

On his way to the station he made a quick pit stop at S.T.A.R. labs and walked into the Cortex where Caitlin, Harry and Cisco were discussing Zoom. "Hey guys, I might have something that could help. This is a sample from a body that was discovered this morning. Probable cause of death was the blunt force trauma to the chest and the fact that his heart was missing." Cisco beamed while taking the sample. "Cool!. Well, not so cool for the victim but maybe this sample contains some traces of tachyon to prove the theory we're working on. Check this out.." Cisco walked to his computer and punched in a few commands, transferring data to the screen on the wall. "Since the breaches closed we've been scanning regularly for tachyons but we couldn't find any." Barry crossed his arms and waited for Cisco to continue but it was Caitlin that took over. "We couldn't find any because there are no breaches left but what if Zoom can open them from Earth 2? He could slip in and out without us detecting." Barry pinched the bridge of his nose for a second, for some reason annoyed by the idea. "Guys, we saw what happened to Jay.. Zoom's dead."  
Harry got up and walked towards Barry. "But what if he's not? Think about it, Allen..all we saw was Jay being pulled back through the breach. Do we even know if that was Jay?" Barry's eyes widened as he stared at Harry. "What..like a speed mirage? No, that's not possible." He turned to Caitlin who was more understandably quiet during the conversation. "I don't know, Barry. I don't think it was a speed mirage but I still have a hard time wrapping my head around Jay and Zoom being the same person. It could have been a doppelganger or a time remnant of some sorts. I honestly don't know but the thought of Zoom coming back scares me because that would mean that everyone I love is in danger." She held his gaze for a second and then glanced over to the medical bay.  
"Alright, " Barry sighed, "what's this theory you've been working on."  
"Vibration" Harry replied with a mysterious smile playing on his lips. "Everyone from my earth operates at a different vibration. It's why Ramon's goggles didn't work on my Earth. That vibration is picked up by cell towers so we can track it." Cisco walked around the control panel to the screen and pointed at the red dots. With a creased forehead Barry stepped closer to examine the screen. "You're saying that those dots are breachers?" He looked at Cisco who smiled excited. "There's like twenty of them in Central City?" Now Caitlin joined them at the screen, tapping on the tablet in her hands. Immediately the image on the screen zoomed in on the concentration of dots. "We haven't figured out if these people are new or if they've been here longer. But they are here so maybe there is a way Zoom is bringing people in from Earth two. Question is why." Barry kept looking at the screen. One of these dots had to be Killer Frost and he would feel a whole lot better if he had a clue where she was. The phone in his pocket buzzed so he glanced at the number and smiled. "Hey Iris. No I'm still at S.T.A.R. labs but I can swing by your office on the way to the station..coffee is good too. Kay, see you in a bit." He hung up and then shoved the phone back in his pocket. "I have to go but keep me posted, okay? Especially on Killer Frost. I don't like the idea of her running around Central City." Then in a gust of wind he took off.

Iris was already sitting at a table at Jitters when he arrived. She was typing on the laptop in front of her but when she saw him she smiled widely until he took a seat opposite her. "Hey Iris," he grinned, "hard at work I see. You do know that you have a perfectly fine desk at CCN, right?" Iris smirked and rolled her eyes. "I'm a reporter, Barry. News doesn't happen inside an office, it happens on the streets." Barry let his eyes go over his surroundings and then chuckled. "Speaking of news, why did you want see me?" Iris leaned across the coffee table and lowered her voice. "I heard a body was found this morning and that could be another one of Zoom's victims? That's not possible, right?" Barry groaned softly. He didn't know how Iris got her information but for some reason she always found out before anyone else. It made her a great reporter but it also made his and Joe's job harder because everyone suspected that they were the ones leaking. "You know I can't talk about this, Iris. It's classified information. How do you even know there was a body?" Iris dropped her head to the side and smirked confidently. "Oh come on, Barry. You know I have to protect my source and I am not asking you to confirm or deny. All I want to know if this is the work of a copycat or not, considering what we saw. You don't think that Zoom is still alive, do you?"  
Just when he was about to answer her he felt a sudden drop in temperature, followed by a woman's scream. Even before he turned around he knew who it was. Killer Frost.

All eyes were on Killer Frost as she stood near the entrance, cold damp surrounding her hands. Her cold blue eyes scanned the coffee house until they landed on Barry and Iris. Then a smirk crossed her face that made a chill run down Barry's back. Slowly and seductively she walked over to their table. Every fiber in Barry's body tensed, ready to throw himself in front of Iris if needed. But then she stopped and just stared intensely while people around them scrambled for cover. The longer it took for her to speak the more concerned he got but it wasn't just the iciness of her stare, there was no warmth in her skin either. "Is it just me or do you have the same feeling of déjà vu as me. Like we've been here before. Oh that's right..we have. That was when you screwed up mine and got my partner killed. But not before he killed your daddy. Uch, that was way overdo because he was an awful singer so not a great loss." He could feel Iris move and hissed she should stay behind him but it was loud enough for Killer Frost to overhear so she moved her attention to Barry instead. "Don't you ever get tired of playing the hero?" Her voice was dripping with sarcasm but he didn't let her get to him. "Don't you ever get tired of playing the villain?" She stared at her fingernails and then smiled. "No, not really. It's actually the most fun a girl can have with her clothes on." He rolled his eyes at her remark. "Why are you doing this? What do you want?" Killer Frost seemed surprised by his question but still answered in anger "I want my life back. I want to go home, or what's left of it. But for now I'm stuck and I'll have to make due with an iced coffee." His eyes stayed on her as she headed for the counter, scaring the barrista into making her coffee. All the while Barry's brain was working in overdrive. She said for now so Killer Frost still thought that there was a way to get home. He needed to know more but the longer she was at Jitters, the higher the chance she would injure someone. So he did the only thing he could think of and that was kidnap Killer Frost.

At the end of the city, in the abandoned hallways of an old hospital he put her down and immediately ducked out of the way of the icicles she fired in his direction. "You are so dead, Flash" she hissed while the area where she was standing slowly turned into ice. It reminded him of Elsa in Frozen but for some reason he thought that mentioning that to her now wasn't going to calm her down. And that's what he needed her to do. So he tried to reason with her while dodging her deadly attacks. "I just want to talk" he tried but she didn't slow down. "I'm done talking, Flash. I never should've helped you with Zoom. You took everything away from me and now I'm going to do the same for you!" So consumed by her anger she didn't see Barry coming at her until he pinned her against the wall, his hands firmly around her wrists. She struggled and the cold almost made it impossible to hold her in place. The only thing preventing him from frostbite was the fast vibrations of his hands creating enough heat for him to hold her. Finally she stopped struggling but her eyes were unforgiving. "I just want to help you" Barry started but that only seemed to anger her further. "Look, what happened with Ronnie is not my fault. I'm not thrilled about that situation either but you can't go around making people suffer because of it." For one moment an evil smirk appeared on her face that was so unsettling that he started to think that he preferred her angry look. "You think this is about Ronnie? That is so cute and so misguided."


	14. Chapter 14

Barry's confusion made him loosen his grip because in a split second she broke free and widened the distance between them without ever taking her eyes off the speedster. Then she circled him slowly like a cat circling her prey just before the kill. "You think you're so clever, don't you Flash? That I'm just this poor hurt girl that's all upset because someone broke her heart.." Barry closely followed every move she made but made no attempts to catch her again. Partly because there was something about her that he found more than a little intriguing. "I'll admit that I did not see that coming, Ronnie choosing that wallflower over me but that's his loss. Not mine. But what does bother me is that he used me. He used me to get back to this Earth the same way you used me to get into Zoom's lair. And the same way Zoom used me to do his bidding." Her voice grew louder with each passing word and Barry braced himself for the wrath she was about to unleash. He didn't have to wait long. Dodging the spikes of ice she aimed at him. "And. I. hate. Being. Used!"  
Barry made it to the other end of the room and then stopped. Killer Frost's back was turned so he knew he only had a moment before she would fire again but he had to try and calm her down.  
"I didn't use you" he replied but spikes were already flying through the air again so she wasn't listening. He moved a couple of feet out off the line of fire and tried again. "I never wanted to leave you behind but there was no time. Stop, I don't want to hurt you." The only reply she gave was sly smirk and then muttered "trust me, you won't." Suddenly Barry remembered her saying the exact same thing back on Earth 2 and he was starting to see things from her perspective. Yes, Zoom did manipulate her by holding Ronnie hostage and Deathstorm only used her to get closer to Zoom but after everything was said and done, the one that suffered the most was Killer Frost. And that was something he could relate to.

To end the fight he started running in a circle around her, faster and faster until the lightning was a blinding and continuing streak. At first it seemed to be working. Killer Frost stopped creating spikes but now an ice storm was building within the circle itself. Lightning and Ice collided but much to Barry's surprise it seemed as if the energy was absorbed by storm. His bolts of lightning fizzled out faster as he could throw them and above the thunder of the storm he could hear her triumphant laughter. Cisco was yelling in his earpiece. "Barry! Talk to me, what's happening. Your vitals are all over the place, man. BARRY!" Confused by what was happening before his eyes Barry stumbled back. As the storm disappeared a figure emerged from the ice mist that was surrounding her. It was still Killer Frost but her appearance had changed dramatically. Her skin wasn't pale like before and her hair was no long white, it was blonde. The one thing that was still the same were her intensely blue eyes that now gazed at a stunned Barry. She sighed satisfied and placed her hands on her hips. "Now I really needed that."  
"How..how is that possible?" Barry mumbled as he still didn't believe what he was seeing. Killer Frost looked like a regular girl again. And a very attractive one too.  
"The simple answer to that question is energy. Energy creates heat and if I absorb enough of it I turn back to this. Luckily for me the effects aren't lasting." She turned around and walked a few steps away from him.  
"Come back with me to S.T.A.R. labs. We can run a few tests and maybe we can find a more permanent solution for your condition." As soon as Barry found his words again he stepped closer to her, convinced that she would welcome the chance to be healed but he couldn't be more wrong. Just as he reached out to take her arm she turned. At first he only saw the grin on her face but by the time he felt the cold it was too late. A long ice spike penetrated his side just below the ribcage. Shocked by her action he stumbled a few steps back until his back hit the stone cold wall. "What the..but you're human now!"  
She flashed him a seductive smile and crossed over to him. "Relax, you're not going to die. I didn't hit any vital parts." While she spoke she traced the symbol on his suit with her index finger but then locked her eyes with his again. "I don't need fixing. I am perfect the way I am and I like being Killer Frost. You're not going to use me as your science project but it's nice to know that your powers can be so satisfying." Her mouth was now hovering closely to his that he completely forgot about the blood that was now staining his suit. She taunted him by pressing her body against his but just as it started to feel pleasurable she put her palm against the wound and pressed. Pain shot through his body but as he flinched she pressed her lips on his, catching his lower lip between her teeth and gently tugging on it. The unexpected warmth surprised him. Killer Frost was messing with his mind in ways he couldn't even begin to understand. The ice inside his body was starting to melt and blood trickled out of the wound but the cold also made the area numb. Any smart person would run to the nearest doctor but Barry had other things on his mind. Eagerly he started to kiss her back, his hands shifting to her hips. The little voice in the back of his mind was still telling him that this was the same woman that was trying to kill him but the way she moved against him was intoxicating. And the way she kissed him, he was convinced she felt the same way. Until she pulled away.

Even if she tried to hide it he noticed that she was breathing heavier but what was even more noticeable was that she was changing back. There were white streaks running through her golden hair and her skin was looking much paler. He could practically feel the walls going back up.  
"Cait, please let me help you. We can figure this out."  
"There is no we, Barry. I don't play well with others and I know what I have to do."  
Barry flinched when he tried to move. The numbness was wearing off and every move he made felt like getting stabbed all over again.  
"What does that mean, you know what you have to do?" She just stared without answering so he filled in the blanks himself. "You're going after Zoom? No, you can't. You're going to get yourself killed."  
Killer Frost chuckled softly. "Here you go underestimating me again. I'm sure Zoom and I can come to some sort of arrangement so he'll let me go back to my Earth. I only have to give him something he really wants. From now on no one will ever use me again. It's time I get what I want."  
He couldn't believe what he was hearing. After everything she still wanted to go back to Earth 2? Somehow it never occurred to him that she would ever go back and if he was honest with himself, he didn't want her to leave.  
Without giving him a second glance she stormed out, leaving him bleeding against the wall. "Barry? Barry, it's Caitlin..answer me!" He pressed the earpiece in his suit and coughed. "Yeah, I'm okay. I'll be right there." 


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Sorry for keeping you guys waiting for so long. This season is really giving me some serious writer's block but things are definitely looking up in the Flashfrost department. Hope you enjoy these two chapters.

On his way back to S.T.A.R. labs that one sentence kept running through his mind, fueling his desire to end Zoom once and for all. He swiftly changed out of his suit before walking at normal speed to the cortex where Cisco and Caitlin were working. "Barry, what happened out there", Cisco asked as soon as he saw Barry but the speedster waived his question away.  
"We can save her" he countered and then looked straight at Caitlin. "Save who? She asked watching him intently. "Barry, your vitals were all over the place and I really think we should run a few tests." Barry shook his head and stepped closer to the scientist. "You don't understand, Cait. I saw it happen right before my eyes. I was running and created some sort of energy surge, which she then absorbed, and then she changed."   
Both Cisco and Caitlin frowned but it was clear that they wanted to know more.   
"Changed into what?" Cisco hesitantly asked. Barry turned to him and almost beamed when he replied, "Caitlin" he simply stated. Cisco and Cait glanced at each other and Caitlin shrugged. "Okay..now we're definitely taking you to the med-bay and I'm doing a full CT.  
"You don't understand," he replied in frustration. "She absorbs energy and it's physically changing her. The blue skin, the hair..it all changed back to normal. She looks just like you, Cait! Except her hair is blond."

He looked at her, waiting for a reaction but she didn't give him one. Cisco on the other hand was excited. "She absorbs energy for warmth. Yeah, that makes so much sense. Remember that guy on Earth 2 that froze when she kissed him? She's sucking the energy out. Like a VAMPIRE!"  
"Well, I don't know if vampire is the right word. She kissed me and I'm still here."   
"You kissed her? Nice.."Cisco grinned and then high fived him but Caitlin was still oddly quiet.   
"If we can build something to give her the energy she needs.." Barry pondered out loud and Cisco chimed in. "There might be something in Martin Stein's notes. The Germans put him in a chamber once when they were trying to recreate Firestorm.. Although, we don't want to kill her either and we don't know where her limits lie." Cisco punched in a few commands to call up the data he got from Martin Stein.  
Barry leaned on the desk and watched Cisco work. "How long do you think it will take? She's looking for Zoom and is planning to go back to Earth 2." Cisco stopped typing and looked up while Caitlin huffed disapprovingly.   
"Well there you have it. She wants to go to Earth 2 so I say we let her. Good riddens."  
"Cait.." Barry pleaded, "if we have a chance to help someone, isn't that what we do?"  
"You can't save everyone, Barry" she countered annoyed. "Let her go back to her earth with Zoom. One less villain to worry about."   
"She's not a villain. Or she doesn't have to be. There is good in her and I've seen it. On Earth 2 she won't stand a chance. Deathstorm is dead and Ronnie isn't going anywhere so she has no source of heat other than killing people for it."  
"Exactly," Caitlin replied. "She kills people. I want to give people the benefit of the doubt as much as you do but I don't see this working out well. I'm sorry."  
She picked up her tablet and turned to walk away, ignoring Barry calling out after her.

For the next couple of hours he worked with Cisco to come up with an idea that not only would give Killer Frost the energy she needed to transform but also make the transformation last longer. And for that they really needed Caitlin's input. While Cisco started working on the machine, he set off to find Caitlin. When he couldn't find her in the lab he got his coat and sped half way across town to her apartment building. A small smile crossed his face when he passed the spot where he held back her hair as she threw up after that their date at the karaoke bar. It seemed like a lifetime ago but it was also a reminder of how close they were and if he tried, she couldn't really say no anyway. He ran up the stairs and stopped outside her door. Just before he rang the bell he hesitated. What if she said no again? He shrugged his doubts off and pushed the button. Caitlin opened the door and raised her brows. "Barry? What are you doing here?" He smiled nervously. "Sorry to bother you at home but I need to talk to you. Cisco and I came up with a plan but we need your expertise." She narrowed her eyes and sighed. "If this is about Killer Frost..I've already told you.." He cut her off by stepping into the apartment and closing the door behind him in case she had nosy neighbors. "I know what you said but Cait..Cisco came up with a dampening device that could help her control her powers. We're just having some problems calibrating it to her physiology. That's why we need you." Caitlin walked away from him towards the kitchen so he followed her and watched as she poured herself a glass of wine. Then she looked back at him but waited before speaking. "Why do you care so much about what happens to her? She's not even from this Earth and we don't know why she's here. For all we know she's still working with Zoom. Besides, she almost killed you today! I think it's best if we focus on one problem at the time and right now that's finding Zoom before he does any more damage."

Barry's gaze dropped to the nose of his shoes, disappointed by her refusal to help. Part of him understood why she was so reluctant to help. "I know this is asking a lot because I know how upset you were when you lost Ronnie but he's back now and you can rebuild your life together. That is what you wanted, right? It's not her fault that he was sucked into the singularity, that was on me and I will forever feel guilty about that. The breach, Zoom..everything that followed was my fault but we have a shot at doing something good now. Isn't that what we've been trying to do all along? Save people? I know we can save her but not without you. Cait..I need you!" She stared at him, weighing his words and then sighed in frustration. "Why are you so sure I'll be able to help anyway. I don't know anything about her or her cold powers. And she's from another Earth. I would have to study her first." Barry held back a smile but he knew that he was winning the argument. She just needed a little push. "That's the beauty of it, Cait. You don't because underneath the ice she's exactly like you." The moment he uttered the words he knew that he made a mistake because her face fell faster than he could run. "She is nothing like me and I can't believe you just said that to me." He gave her his most apologetic smile to calm her down. "I didn't mean it like that. She is clearly another version of you. But you two share similar DNA." He ran his head through his hair and smiled again. "Would it help if I said please?"  
You can be very annoying sometimes, Barry." He smirked at her remark and she smirked back. "That's why I prefer Cisco over you." He chuckled and scooped up the scientist as if she weighed nothing. "We both know that's not true" Before she could reply he flashed out of the apartment and headed back to S.T.A.R. labs.

  
  


  
  


  
  



	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

  
  
The ground was frozen but the air was warm, creating a thick layer of mist that covered the earth like an icy blanket. A sharp contrast to the dark sky and if it weren't for the moon he wouldn't be able to see at all. It took him a few seconds to familiarize himself with his surroundings. He was in the woods but is was unnaturally quiet. No sounds except the rapid beating of his own heart and the sounds of breaking twigs under his feet. He started walking, guided by a memory he didn't know he had until he reached the cabin. Suddenly it made sense. This was Earth 2 and the cabin where Killer Frost took him after his injury. He pushed against the door, expecting it to be locked but it wasn't. At first glance the house was empty but as he checked the rooms he got the feeling that he wasn't alone. A feeling that was confirmed when he exhaled and saw his breath. "Well well, look who we have here. Didn't think we would meet again so soon, Flash." Killer Frost stood in the doorway, blocking his path in case he wanted to run. But he didn't want to. "I didn't come here to fight you. I'm here to help if you'll let me"

"She laughed dryly while flipping her hair. "You..help me? That is so cute. The only one here that needs help is you but in case you haven't noticed, there is no one here to hear you scream when I kill you." While she spoke she moved her hand and created a sharp icicle from thin air, pointing it at Barry. He didn't flinch and locked his eyes with hers. When she came closer he grabbed her wrist, the point of the icicle pressing against his chest. If she wanted she could drive it straight into his heart but she hesitated and in that split second he knew that she wouldn't hurt him. Barry's heart was racing. His fingers around her wrist were freezing but somehow he barely noticed. "This isn't you, Cait." She scowled. "This IS me, Flash. You just don't want to see me for who I am." She pressed harder against his chest, making him gasp for air but he didn't let go of her wrist or her stare. "I know you're someone else underneath this cold exterior and I will prove it to you." He crashed his lips against hers with such force that she lost her balance and slammed against the wall. She groaned against his mouth but he held a tight grip on her arm so she couldn't break away. At first she tried but after a few seconds she stopped fighting and kissed him back. His tongue invaded her mouth while in the background he heard the icicle hit the floor and shatter into a thousand pieces. Slowly he let go of her wrist and let his hand follow the curve of her waist down to her hips. He could feel the energy draining from his body through the kiss and the only way to counteract the effects was to vibrate. The heat started to spread, not only through his body but hers as well. Barry groaned, pushing his body against hers. The kiss was a good start but in no way satisfying either one of them. His hands traveled down her coat to her firm behind that looked so good in that leather mini-skirt and squeezed. His breath hitched when she groaned and bit his lower lip. For someone so cold she was definitely heating him up to the point where he didn't want to stop. He wanted her more than ever before and it seemed that she was on the same page. Her kiss got more demanding, making it harder for him to stay in control. His hands roamed her back, looking for a zipper. When he found it managed to pull it down, despite his cold fingers. He pushed the leather out of the way to touch her naked back. Her skin felt warmer then he imagined and it confused and aroused him at the same time. She moaned and pushed her hips against his. His suit was tight enough on a regular day but now it felt really uncomfortable so he used record speed to free himself of the garment and then kissed her again. She smiled against his lips when she noticed the Flash suit tossed on the floor. "Are you always this fast, Flash? Because I would be very disappointed," she teased, causing him to smirk and trail his kisses down the side of her neck. "Not always" he mumbled while dropping his hand down to the inside of her thigh, slowly moving it up and smirked when he felt her shiver. There was little room for his hand to move under the tight skirt but enough to brush over the lace panties she was wearing. Again it surprised him how warm, and more importantly, wet she was. Her body jerked against his with each stroke and when he pulled his head back to look at her eyes he noticed the small changes. Her lips were no longer blue but cherry colored red, her skin still pale but her eyes had some warmth in them. She was absorbing his heat and looking more beautiful with each passing second. He had only one thought, to possess this woman body and soul. More pieces of clothing came off between kisses and moans until they were both completely naked. For a brief moment he hesitated, running his fingers through her hair and gazing into her eyes. None of this made any sense. She was a villain, a killer, a meta that tried to kill him and yet there was something about her he couldn't and wouldn't resist. He leaned in to kiss her again, ready to make her his…  
BUZZZZZ….BUZZZZZZ…..BUZZZZZ  
  
He cursed and rolled over, covering his head with his pillow but it was already too late. The dream was gone and the buzzing wasn't going to stop. Irritated he reached for the nightstand and picked up his phone. "WHAT?!" he snapped to the caller on the other end. "Good morning to you too." It was Cisco's voice on the other end and sounded excited. "Did I wake you? Sorry not sorry because you have to get to S.T.A.R. labs now. There's something you have to see." Barry shook his head trying to wake up when all he really wanted to do was go back to sleep and back to the dream but something in Cisco's voice made his shift into gear. "I'll be right there," he sighed and then ended the call. He picked up a round of coffees from Jitters on the way to the lab but he was still moody when he entered the cortex. He placed the coffee on the desk and then looked at his team. Cisco beamed. "We may have a solution for our Killer Frost problem but we've made these powercuffs. They act like a dampening field so she should be able to control her powers. Made out of Carbine of course because otherwise they would freeze. It was Caitlin's idea. But that's not all. We were thinking about what you said about her absorbing powers and then I remembered Martin Stein's notes and we came up with this." Cisco pointed to an alcove filled with tech he'd never seen before. Barry raised his brows. "And what does that do?" "It's an energy converter, duh!" Cisco replied. "I used the tech we found in the time vault. The energy source used by the Reverse Flash to power his suit. It vibrates at a certain frequency and we adjusted it so the vibration creates energy which then can be used to create heat."  
"And you're sure this is going to work?" Barry asked. "Well, in theory it should work but we haven't been able to test it. But it should based on what you told us about what happened between you and Killer Frost."   
All the while Cisco was talking, Caitlin had been standing to the side. He could feel her eyes on him but for some reason he avoided looking in her direction. The similarities between Caitlin and Killer Frost were so convincing that looking at her would only bring back the memory of the dream. Unfortunately for him, she noticed his odd behavior.   
"Barry, are you alright? You look a bit flushed." She walked over to him and placed a cool hand on his forehead. "Maybe I should run a few tests" she muttered. He backed away and gave her a half smile. "I'm fine. Really. Rough night I guess." He then turned to Cisco and picked up one of the cuffs. "Good work, guys." Caitlin walked back to her work station and punched her access code on the computer. "But if these fail, we always have the pipeline." She smirked but before he could respond an alarm went off. Barry and Caitlin both turned to Cisco who stared at one of the monitors. "You might get a chance to test these sooner than you think. A breach just opened on 34th and Main." A gust of wind blew through the cortex as Barry sped off, leaving Cisco and Caitlin behind. While he was running he heard Cisco in his earpiece. "Barry, I hacked into the CCPD cameras and Killer Frost is with Zoom. Be careful, you could be walking into a trap!" 

  
  



	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

He stopped at the intersection and scanned his surroundings. The blue light of the portal illuminated the streets but it was already closing in on itself but there was no sign of Zoom and Killer Frost. His senses were working at high speed with a decent amount of anxiety to finish this. He had no real plan but that hadn't stopped him before. But knowing that Killer Frost sided with Zoom, that was something that bothered him. Zoom had to be stopped at all costs, there was little doubt in his mind about that. But hurting Killer Frost..he wasn't sure if he could do that if it came down to it. "Guys, I don't see them. Are you picking up anything?" Barry called out while looking around. Before Cisco had a chance to reply he he was knocked off his feet by a cold ray of ice, throwing him across the street. "Nevermind," he muttered and tried to get back up but was immediately struck again by a fist that belonged to the black speedster. The pain was bad but at least his jaw was still in one piece when he managed to avoid another attack and flashed to a safe distance. Killer Frost and Zoom came from opposite sides and met each other in the middle of the street before walking towards him. Zoom was the first one to speak. "It's over, Barry. This is where it all ends. Now you can make it easier on yourself and give up your speed voluntarily or I could take it from you by force, after I've killed everyone you claim you care about. Starting with the people listening in at S.T.A.R. Labs. Starting with Cait. She was always my favorite. I had hopes for her once, you know? She could have been great like Frosty over here but she disappointed me when she chose you and your pathetic team. How is that working out for you now that her husband is back?" He smirked and flexed his fingers. "So even when you win, you lose. Because that's what you are..Barry Allen, a loser. Thank God your mother is already dead so she won't have to see what you have become. You don't deserve this gift that you have been given. I am a speed God and once I have your speed I will have enough to conquer every Earth and take it from the others. But take comfort in the fact that neither you, or anyone on Team Flash, can do anything about that. It won't take long and then I will rule the Multiverse." Killer Frost cleared her throat and put a hand on her hip as she turned to Zoom. "Ahum, you mean we will rule the Multiverse!" Zoom opened his mouth but Barry was faster. "He's playing you, can't you see? He will kill you the first chance he gets because you mean nothing to him, Cait." She glared at him and as her temper flared, mist surrounded her hands. He knew that he was in danger of being hit by ice daggers again but he had to try. "Shut it, Flash. You don't know a thing. You pretend to care but you want to keep me locked in your precious lab like some sort of experiment. You want to change me into someone that I am not. I am not her and I don't want to be. They call me Killer Frost for a reason." To make her point even more clear she fired the daggers and he had to use super speed to avoid being hit. A sharp pain followed when he was struck in the thigh. Limping he came to a halt. "Enough!" Zoom yelled at the both of them. "No more playing." His hand was vibrating as he approached Barry. "I am talking your speed but that doesn't mean that you have to be alive for it." He picked Barry up as if he weighed nothing, his feet dangling a few inches above the asphalt and then threw him like a rag doll. The speedster winched as he landed at Killer Frost's feet. She chuckled as she looked down on him. "How exactly are you going to steal his power?" Zoom pulled out a syringe he'd been hiding behind the belt of his suit. "With this. This is a little invention I stole from the lab when Cisco wasn't looking. They were working on a drug to make Barry faster but it wasn't stable enough to sustain the speed for a long period of time. I reversed engineered it to make him go slower." Killer Frost arched a brow. "How is that going to help you get faster?" Zoom laughed dryly. "I'll spare you the scientific details and dumb it down for you. Speedsters, including Barry and I, are tapped into the Speedforce. It's where we get our speed and it's always balanced. One dies, another rises, speedsters get older and younger ones take their place. So as Barry goes slower, I get faster. And by killing all the other speedsters on every other Earth, all that power is flowing to me until I am all that's left." Killer Frost frowned and when she looked down at Barry he noticed the worried look in her eyes. Zoom was even more crazy than she thought. With an evil smile Zoom pulled the cap off the needle and approached Barry. He automatically leaned back but was unable to run because of the wound on his thigh. In a desperate plea for his life Barry turned to Killer Frost. "You can stop this. You don't have to stay with him and you don't have to go back to Earth 2. Stay here, with us."  
"With you?" she smirked, "why would I want to do a stupid thing like that? Ronnie is back with his boring vanilla wife and this is not my world. There is nothing left for me here."  
"You're wrong" Barry replied. "I'm here. S.T.A.R. labs is here. You can make a life here. You can't deny that there is something between us. You felt it on Earth two, I know you did! He killed Deathstorm and Reverb right in front of you!" In the background Zoom started laughing. "That's even more pathetic, Barry. To think that she could ever be interested in you. I am really going to enjoy this." With those words he drove the needle deep into Barry's flesh en emptied the syringe. Barry felt the effects of the drug almost immediately. His heartrate accelerated before dropping as fast, his pupils dilated and in the distance he heard Cisco's voice telling him to get out of there. The problem with that was that he couldn't move. In his weakened state he suddenly remembered a conversation he had with his other self on Earth 2. With as much strength as he could muster he pushed himself up. "You can't trust Zoom. He killed your brother." Killer Frost stared at him with a mixture of disbelief and anger. "That's a lie. Charlie's death was an accident. How dare you use.."  
"He fell when he was playing at a construction site, right? That's the official story you were told? Except he wasn't. Your brother was murdered by Hunter Zolomon. The other Barry told me that they found the evidence but by then Hunter was already convicted for other crimes and sentenced to death. And since Charlie was a minor at the time of his death, the details of the case were never released to the general public." His head was pounding and he was feeling weak but he still managed to rise to his feet. The air around Frost was crystalizing again, indicating that her emotions were getting the better of her. "Is that true?" Her words were as cold as the air that surrounded her but her piercing blue eyes were now directed at Zoom who in return sighed impatiently. "Who cares? I don't remember. I killed a lot of people. We're on the brink of achieving greatness. Let's not get distracted by details." He waved his hand dismissively. With arms wide he started to vibrate. Not just his hands but his entire body. Bolts of blue lightning flashed around him as the smile on his face widened. Whatever he was doing, it was clearly working. What he didn't see coming was the long ice spear Killer Frost drove through his chest. "Charlie was just a kid. An innocent little boy. His death destroyed my family and made me cold." Her voice was laced with emotion as she twisted the spear, making Zoom gasp for air. He stopped vibrating but was still alive. His hands reached for the piece sticking out of his chest and with Metahuman strength he broke off a piece. The majority of it was still stuck in his body. Vibrating would help melt the ice but Barry didn't feel the need to tell him. Zoon hunched forward in pain. Killer Frost walked up behand him with a second icicle to finish the job and that's when Barry decided to speak up. "Cait, don't! You are better than this. You don't have to live up to your name but if you kill him now, there is no turning back. We can deal with him another way." She stepped even closer and raised her hand to finish Zoom off but then stayed frozen as if his words were finally sinking in. Then she dropped the spear and turned to Barry. Her face was paler than he'd ever seen before, her eyes void. For a moment he feared she would now turn her anger back at him. In a surprise move she froze his leg. The pain was excruciating. "Why..?" he started but she shrugged and cut him off. "So the drug won't spread through the rest of our body. You're welcome." In the corner of his eyes he saw the black, doors opening before the vehicle had even come to a full stop and his friends jumping out. Cisco and Wells cuffed Zoom as Caitlin took care of his wounds but Barry didn't care about that. He needed to know if Killer Frost was okay but she took off the moment his team arrived.

 **Epilogue**

He stretched with his eyes still closed and then rolled over. When he felt an empty space next to him his eyes fluttered. For a brief second he feared that she was gone but then he heard singing coming from the bathroom. A smile spread on his face as moments later she walked into the bedroom with nothing but a towel wrapped around her slim body. Her long hair, more blonde than white now, flowed down her back. "What?" she smirked. "Nothing.." he grinned back and propped himself up on one elbow. "Can't a guy admire his beautiful girlfriend?" She shook her head and chuckled. "Girlfriend? Now aren't you getting ahead of yourself, Allen? I thought we were just having fun." Barry faked indignation. "Are you saying that you were just using me for warmth? That is so disappointing." He could barely keep himself from bursting out in laughter when she took off the towel and threw it at him. He caught it and then let his eyes go over her naked body and memories of the previous night came flooding back. It showed on his face because she gave him a sultry look that further took his breath away. If it was up to him he would take her back to bed but he knew that that was out of the question. Her teasing was just to distract him from the importance of the day. "Stop looking at me like that and put on some clothes or we are going to be late."

Because of the sudden drop in temperature he noticed how anxious she was feeling, so he took her freezing hand and squeezed it lightly. "It's going to be alright." She glanced at him and smiled but he could see that she was faking her confidence. "If /she/ is coming after me for the Ronnie thing then I am freezing her." There was some hostility in her voice but he shrugged it off. "She's not going to give you a hard time. No one is. I told you, they're all okay with you coming to work with us. Use those powers of yours for good instead of evil." He nudged her with his hip and beamed when a small smile broke on her face. When the doors to the cortex opened she pulled her hand out of his and followed him in. Caitlin and Cisco were working behind their station. There was no sign of Wells but he figured his mentor was somewhere else in the building but Joe and Iris were there waiting for them. "Good morning" Both Cisco and Caitlin looked up simultaneously but it was Cisco who took the lead. "There she is. Welcome to S.T.A.R. labs. But you already know that because it's basically the same as it is on your Earth." Joe rolled his eyes and gave her a warm smile. "Well, I haven't seen Barry smile this much since that time we got that hamster." Iris joined in "Barry was so happy with it that he would have taken him to school if dad didn't discover it in Barry's lunchbox." Killer Frost arched a brow. "Are you comparing me with a rodent?" Joe and Iris exchanged a look and Iris opened her mouth to deny when Killer Frost smiled. "I'm just kidding. Barry filled me in on this weird family dynamic you've got going on. It's strange for me to see people I know on my Earth. Like the both of you. I gather you don't sing?" Joe started laughing. "Only in the shower. No, I'm a cop and Iris is a reporter." Killer Frost looked at Iris and paused. "Must be a slow newsday if you have time to hang around here…again." She yawned bored and turned away from the West family, slowly walking over to the monitors where the live feel of Zoom's cell in the pipeline was showing. "What's all this?" Cisco joined her and started explaining while Caitlin walked over to Barry and lowered her voice. "You really think this is a good idea?" He offered her a reassuring smile. "Yes, I do. I understand you have some concerns but Cait, she could have killed me. Several times actually. My point is that she didn't. Underneath all that cold she's still..well, you." Dr. Snow inhaled sharply but decided not to respond and they both turned to Cisco and Killer Frost. "If she's staying here she'll need another name. We can't have two Caitlins working side by side" she pondered out loud. Joe joined them. "Caitlin is right. We can't have a member of Team Flash that's called Killer Frost. How about we simply call her Frost?" From behind the desk Cisco looked up. "Whoa whoa..leave the naming to the professionals." He nudged Frost with a broad smile. "I'm sort of a legend when it comes to names so don't worry, I'll think of something." As she rolled her eyes an alarm went off and Caitlin quickly walked back to her place behind the desk. "There's a fire downtown and there are people trapped. Barry, there's a daycare center on the top floor!" Barry glanced at Frost and grinned, "ready to become a hero?"

 _ **That's all, folks! I can't believe I actually finished something. Thank you for all your sweet comments and above all, your patience and support. I hope you've enjoyed the story and if you haven't, sorry..I did my best. Fingers crossed next season we'll get some real FlashFrost.**_


End file.
